Survival
by FictionWriter91
Summary: On a mission that went bad fast, Toll makes a split decision to rescue a freshly orphaned girl and take her away with the rest of the Expendables. Unsure of what to do or how to handle the situation, Toll relies on his team to help. Things get messier, though, when the mission they failed comes back to haunt them. Will they survive?
1. Nikita

**This idea has been trapped in my mind all weekend, and I wanted to set it free, so here it is. You all know how much I love Toll Road as well as Lee and Barney, so this story is kind of centered around him. I am also dedicating this to Pavs, whose encouragement has helped me decide to post this story even though my last few Expendable stories haven't been read much. I really hope you enjoy it.**

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In the depths of the woods, five men were crouched in wait. The leader looked at his watch, knowing that at any minute, they would be called to action.

"This doesn't feel right," one of the men said. His brow was soaked with sweat, and he was flexing his arms anxiously. He was a large man, African American, and deadly in confrontation. This was Hale Caesar.

"It never feels right," the one beside him scoffed. His hat was low over his eyes while he scanned their surroundings. He was Caucasian and one of the best fighters. This was Toll Road.

"Nope," the third agreed. He was another Caucasian, tall and Swedish. There was a scar under his right eye along his cheek, and he was antsy for battle. This was Gunner.

"Focus, will you?" the fourth muttered. His British accent cut the air like a knife, which was his main weapon and one he was very good at using. He was also Caucasian and easily annoyed. This was Lee Christmas.

"Enough," the fifth, and leader, retorted. The Caucasian Italian looked at his men and tried to look braver than he felt. He kept his fingers near his holstered gun, just in case. This was Barney Ross. They were down a man, Yin Yang having been dropped off above China a few months ago. Barney had almost contemplated calling up Maggie Chan, but he didn't want to bother her. This mission seemed simple enough, but he had a funny feeling that there was more to it than what they were told.

"Here we go," Lee said, hearing the trucks. The others cocked their guns and waited for Barney's signal.

"Now!" he hollered, gesturing. They flew up out of the brush and into action. With the trucks gone, that meant the village was void of soldiers. At least, that was what Barney was hoping for. They were looking for a briefcase with a disc in it. Church had called in a favor again, leaving Barney to wonder if the guy was competent enough to do his job ever.

"Go, go, go," he urged as they slid inside the village without being seen. They all knew what they were looking for. They split up, covering more ground. They didn't get far, however, when shots were fired.

"Fan out!" Barney shouted, ducking from the flying bullets. So much for not being seen. He lost track of his men when more of the shooters appeared.

**Nikita  
**

Her mother barricaded them in the house when the shooting started. She was crying.

"Mom?" Nikita asked, feeling scared.

"Bad men. Very bad men," her mother kept repeating. She started rocking back and forth on the floor. Nikita sat beside her, taking her hand and trying to comfort her.

"It'll be all right," she reassured her mother.

"We will see," she responded, making Nikita swallow hard.

**Lee**

He ducked for cover behind an old, broken down truck. He checked his ammo and saw that he had plenty still. He had no idea where to even start looking for this briefcase. This village seemed awful strange for something so high tech to be hidden, but then again, maybe that was the perfect cover.

"Anyone find it yet?" Barney's voice came over the comm system.

"No," Lee answered. "Can you hold them off?"  
"Too many."

"Looks like Church will have to get it himself," Caesar's voice said. Lee agreed with this. He was getting tired of doing the guy's dirty work anyway, especially after Vilain.

"I think you're right," Barney responded. "Wrap it up and get out."

"Copy that," the others said. Lee looked for an exit and found one. He went for it.

**Toll Road**

He got ambushed, forcing him to enter a house. He hit the floor as the glass shattered around him from the window. He heard screams of two women, but he wasn't paying attention to them as he had to get rid of his assailants first. He flipped onto his back, firing off shots out the open window. He heard one man go down, but another was still shooting. Then, the shooter was in the doorway shouting in a foreign language.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Toll shouted, seeing him aim at the women. He finally noticed it was a mother and her daughter. They were both terrified.

"You hiding him! You hiding him!" the man shouted in broken English. The mother shook her head furiously.

"No!" she cried. The man shouted into his intercom, leaving Toll to assume he was spreading the word of a traitor to his buddies. He lit right back into the woman once he was done.

"Traitor! You help him!" he shouted.

"She wasn't," Toll started. The man ignored him, promptly shooting the mother square in the chest. The girl screamed, and Toll showed no mercy to the man out of blind rage. Who could just kill an innocent person like that?

"Toll?! Where are you? We gotta go!" Barney's voice yelled into his ear. Toll looked at the girl, who was huddled on the floor crying and rocking. He couldn't leave her. They'd probably kill her since they all thought she and her mother were traitors.

"Hey!" he said loudly, bending down to her. "Can you understand me?" She nodded. More shots outside, and she flinched while Toll looked to see where they were coming from.

"If you want to be safe, you gotta come with me," he said. She stared at him. "Come on!" He couldn't waste anymore time. He'd get left here.

"TOLL!" Barney and the others' voices all shouted in his ear.

"Please," Toll begged her. "They'll kill you."

She looked at her mother and then back at him. He could tell she knew this was true. Finally, she stood.

"Great. Come on," he said.

"My teddy," she said back.

"Your what?" he asked, confused. He watched as she ran into her bedroom to grab a teddy bear and run back, tucking what looked like a locket under her shirt. Toll was astounded, but then again, stuffed animals were a great comfort to kids. She looked to be between about six to nine. He took her hand and rushed out the door.

"Stay low. Don't look at them," Toll ordered as they ran. She remained silent but did as he asked. He shot some other men as he fled. He had no idea if they'd get out of this alive.

**Barney  
**

"We gotta go," Lee urged. Barney twisted in his seat.

"I can't leave him," he answered. Where the hell was Toll?! Gunner and Caesar were getting anxious in the back. They wanted to get out of there before reinforcements came.

"Comin' in!" Toll's voice shouted.

"Finally," Lee huffed. Barney started the plane. They heard clattering in the back as Toll scrambled inside. Barney looked back at him and discovered that he wasn't alone.

"Hey, whoa," he said. "Toll, what is this?"

The others were staring at the girl too, who stared back at them. She was a small, African American girl, and she was afraid. Barney could tell. He'd be afraid of a plane full of strange men too, if he was her.

"They're gonna kill her," Toll explained.

"What?" Gunner asked, shocked.

"They thought she and her mother were hiding me. They shot her mother. They'll kill her next. They think she's a traitor."

"We don't have time for chitchat," Lee said angrily. "Can we deal with this later?"

"Are you sure?" Barney asked Toll. "I don't want to be accused of kidnapping."

"They will kill me," the girl piped up, startling them all. For a small girl, her voice was very strong. "I want to come."

"Is that good enough for you? She's willingly coming with us," Toll said.

"Strap her in," Barney instructed, turning back to face the front. The plane started to move. He wondered just what they had gotten themselves into.

**Nikita**

She was trying not to feel scared. She had never been on a plane before. She clutched her teddy and her necklace hard, leaving a groove in her hand. It may have seemed silly to the man, Toll, that she went back for them, but they were all she had left of her mother and her father. Her father had given her the teddy before going off and getting killed. The locket was her mother's. Nikita knew the pilot of the plane was skeptical of her coming along, but she knew she couldn't stay behind. She closed her eyes, the image of her lifeless mother appearing suddenly. She started to cry.

"Hey," Toll said. "It'll be all right."

She tried to nod, but it was difficult. Toll patted her knee awkwardly. The others were taking turns looking at her.

"I miss Mom," she said after a while. Seeing Toll's face, she knew he just realized that she had indeed see her own mother getting shot. Since it seemed like something he did all the time, it was easy to forget she assumed. She wasn't all right. She was very traumatized, but she knew if she was going to survive this, she had to be strong. Her mother was with her father now in Heaven. She had to believe that.

**Toll Road**

He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. He could tell the others were skeptical and puzzled as to why he brought this girl with them. It was just his gut telling him he had to save her. He couldn't explain it otherwise. She was crying now, and he knew she was thinking about her mother. He felt furious at this. No little girl should see their parent die like that. He just knew she'd have nightmares. He knew he was going to. He leaned his head back, feeling the vibration from the plane. He had no idea what to expect once they landed.

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**Should I continue? I hope you're intrigued enough to want me to! :)**


	2. Lee's Helping Hand

**Thank you Rossi's Lil Devil for your review! I really appreciated it :D I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you like this chapter just as much :)**

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When the plane landed, nobody moved. Eventually, Barney stood up from his seat and surveyed everyone from the cockpit. Then he slowly made his way down to where Toll was sitting with Nikita. The girl looked up at him with solemn eyes when he stopped in front of them.

"What's the plan?" Barney asked Toll.

"I...I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Toll replied. Lee scratched his head as he watched. He had no idea what Toll had gotten himself into.

"We can't just leave her anywhere," Barney said logically. "You brought her here, so she's your responsibility."

"I know."

Barney walked to the door and yanked it open then while Nikita watched. Gunner got up and followed Caesar out the door, giving Toll a look over his shoulder before he disappeared. Toll sighed.

"Well, I guess you're coming home with me," he said to her. She just nodded. Then he noticed Lee still standing there. "What?"

Lee chewed on his lip for a moment, thinking. Did he really want to get involved in this? He sighed after a moment.

"I have a niece," he said.

"That's nice," Toll snorted. "What's your point?"

"She is a few years older than her. I have some of her old things at my place she can have," Lee gestured.

"Yea?"

"Yea," Lee nodded.

"You okay with that?" Toll asked Nikita.

"Sure," Nikita nodded. She didn't know what to say anyway. Lee passed them and jumped down from the plane. Toll followed, and he helped Nikita get down. He was a little surprised when she took his hand once they started walking. She clutched her teddy tightly as they got to his car. Lee hopped onto his bike.

"Follow me," he said, slipping his helmet on. Toll didn't have a car seat for Nikita, but he figured she would be all right.

"How old are you?" he asked as he buckled her in.

"I'm eight," she answered.

"Cool," Toll smiled. He shut the door and climbed into the driver's seat. He tailed Lee back to his place. He had no idea what to expect.

**Barney **

He found Tool sitting and smoking in the middle of the garage. Barney took off his helmet and sat on his bike, watching.

"Something on your mind?" Tool asked through his pipe.

"Bad mission," Barney answered.

"How bad?"

"No losses, but we brought back a girl."

"A girl?"

"Yea. Toll saw her mother die, so he brought her with us to save her."

"Toll with a kid," Tool mused. "I'd pay to see that."

"I don't think it was a good idea," Barney admitted.

"So what? You think you should have dropped her off at a convent or something?" Tool asked.

"Probably. Nuns would do a better job."

"I think he'll be all right," Tool surmised.

"You have more faith than I do," Barney laughed. He was worried for Toll Road. Very worried.

**Nikita **

She sat on the couch while Lee went to the spare room and Toll stood with his arms crossed next to her. Her stomach growled very loudly, and she felt embarrassed. Toll heard, of course.

"You hungry?" he asked. Then he regretted it. Of course she was hungry! Her stomach sounded like an earthquake.

"I could eat," she replied. Then she felt her eyes tear up. That was something her father always used to say whenever her mother asked if he was hungry. She suddenly missed them both very much.

"Let's see what Lee has," Toll said, going into the kitchen. Nikita watched him open cupboard doors, searching.

"Here we are," Lee said, returning. He had a box in his hands, and he set it down in front of her.

"Rainbows," Nikita whispered. They were her favorite, and there happened to be a light blue t-shirt with a rainbow on it in the box.

"You can have whatever you like," Lee smiled at her.

"Hey, man, you got anything good to eat in here?" Toll asked. Lee gave her one last smile before going to help Toll. Nikita edged towards the box carefully. She didn't want to appear greedy, but she didn't want to look ungrateful either. She pulled out the t-shirt and held it in her hands. It smelled freshly washed. She looked back in the box and found some pants. There were books that looked interesting, and there was some sort of game at the bottom. What caught her eye the most was the stuffed puppy.

"You'd like a friend, wouldn't you Teddy?" she asked her stuffed bear. Pretending she got an answer, she lifted the puppy out and set it next to the bear. She smiled.

"All right. Here we go," Toll said, returning with some cheese and crackers along with apple slices. Lee was preparing a grilled cheese on the stove for her as well.

"Thank you," she said, taking the plate from him. She ate carefully. Back home, they hadn't had much, so she had learned to ration her food.

"You can have it all," Toll laughed when she left about half on the plate. She looked unsure, but she gingerly started eating again.

"Try this," Lee said, handing her the grilled sandwich. He had cut it into pieces, and she picked it up, looking at it carefully.

"It won't bite you," Toll teased. She placed it in her mouth, and her eyes widened.

"No good?" Lee asked, hoping he was wrong. Her answer was to shove more of it into her mouth.

"I think it's very good," Toll answered for her. Lee sat down across from them while she finished.

"I've never had that before," she said.

"Seriously?" Lee asked.

"No."

"What did you eat then?"

"Whatever Mama could afford."

"Ah," Lee nodded. He didn't have a good feeling about it.

"Thanks, Lee," Toll said. "I appreciate this."

"Anytime. I have experience," Lee added.

"You ready?" Toll asked Nikita, who nodded. She wondered what his house would be like.

**Toll Road **

He turned the lights on in his small apartment and winced. It needed a good cleaning. There were some pizza boxes on the floor, and the room smelled stale. If Nikita noticed, she didn't comment. She went and sat down on the rocking chair. Toll bent to clean up some of the mess. He realized after a moment that he didn't really have a spare bedroom. He stood there, pondering. Would it be bad to let her sleep on the pull out couch? He had clean sheets.

"You don't have room for me, do you?" Nikita asked, breaking into his thoughts and startling him.

"Huh? Sure I do," he recovered.

"You only have one bedroom," she noted, tilting her head towards the door at the end of the hall.

"Ah, you got me," Toll said sheepishly. "The couch pulls out."

"That's fine with me," she shrugged.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay," Toll nodded. He went to get the sheets and blankets and came back to set it up. He was feeling exhausted, so he could only imagine what she was feeling. It was finally dark outside, nearing the nine p.m. mark. He got the pull out set up and turned to look at her. Then he smiled. She had fallen asleep in the rocking chair. He went over to her and carefully picked her up, placing her on the pull out and tucking her in the blankets. He placed the teddy and the puppy next to her before watching her for a moment. He felt bad that she had lost everything and was stuck here with him. He turned off the light and went to his own room. He'd figure out tomorrow what the plan was for Nikita.

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**I appreciate hearing from you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**


	3. Starting Point

**So, I am taking this story off of it's hiatus for now, but it might go back on hiatus if things get hectic again. Hopefully you guys are still interested in reading it!**

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Toll awoke in the middle of the night to screams. He lunged blindly for the gun on his nightstand and fell out of his bed with a thud. He untangled the sheet from his foot and burst out of the bedroom, swinging his gun around looking for the person who was making the woman scream. Then it hit him. He had Nikita, and she was screaming. He flicked on the light, seeing that there was no one there making her scream. She was still asleep and having a full on nightmare, just as he predicted would happen. Toll almost wished there was a bad guy standing in his small living room. That he could handle. A nightmare was a whole different department. He set his gun down on the kitchen counter and went over to wake her up.

"Hey," he said, shaking her. "Nikita. Honey, wake up."

She gave one more blood curdling scream before sitting up boltright, eyes wide.

"Help me!" she cried, seeing him. "Help me!"

"Hey," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm right here. You're not in danger. You hear me?"

Nikita looked at him finally, her eyes wet with tears and her bottom lip trembling.

"Where am I?" she asked in a whisper.

"You're at my apartment. I brought you here from your home because you were in danger. You...you live here now," he finished awkwardly. Nikita looked at him solemnly until the dream began to fade from her mind. They were terrifying images.

"Do you want some water or something?" Toll asked. He really was hopeless with children.

"No," she shook her head.

"Is there anything I can do or say that will make you feel better?"

"I don't think so."

Toll felt like a horrible person then. What guy couldn't make a child feel better?

"Okay."

Nikita curled back up on the mattress and buried her head under the blankets. Toll hesitated for a moment before going back to his own bed, but he couldn't fall back to sleep. Her screams kept echoing in his ears.

**Barney's Hangar **

"That bad, huh?" Barney asked when Toll finished telling him what happened. Gunner was entertaining Nikita, to the surprise of everyone. He seemed taken with her. She laughed out loud when he finished telling her a joke. Barney hoped it was a clean joke.

"I have never felt so useless and helpless in my life," Toll sighed, rubbing his head. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"We all knew that," Barney pointed out. His cigar was hanging from his lips as he grunted and twisted at the part on his plane he was trying to work on.

"Thanks for the confidence boost," Toll said sarcastically.

"What did I miss?" Lee asked, appearing then with his helmet in his hand.

"Not much," Barney answered. Caesar was off with his family, so he wasn't there. The rest didn't know what to do with themselves after a mission sometimes, so they hung out together.

"How was she last night?" Lee asked Toll. He explained what happened.

"You should get her to talk to someone," Lee suggested when he was done. "Like, I dunno, your therapist?"

"Right," Toll nodded. He felt incredibly stupid then. "I'll call her."

"It's okay that you don't know what you're doing," Barney spoke up again. "No parent does. It's not like a manual comes out behind the kid to tell them what to do."

"Yea, but they're at least their biological kids," Toll argued. "I'm not related to her."

"No shit, but how do you think adoption and fostering works?" Barney snorted.

"Ah."

"Are you going to adopt her?" Lee asked, curious.

"I don't know. I brought her here with no papers or anything. I have no idea how that is going to work."

"I know a guy," Barney said.

"So, what? We have this guy say I'm her uncle or something?" Toll questioned.

"He can get her some papers. The rest is up to you."

"Great," Toll muttered.

"We could just take her back," Lee offered. His tone was sarcastic, though.

"She'd die there," Toll said softly, missing the sarcasm.

"I know that, idiot," Lee said, nudging him. "I'm just trying to make you realize you did the right thing, saving her." He'd been thinking about it all night, and he came to the conclusion that he would have done the same thing too if it had been him.

"Oh."

"You better take her shopping for some new clothes," Barney said. "Make her feel at home. And clean up that apartment of yours; it's nasty."

"I'm on it," Toll sighed. This was going to be a lot of work.

**Later-Nikita **

Nikita knew Toll was out of his element, but she had to give him credit for trying. He looked so out of place in the children's clothing section of the store, and she felt out of her element from what there was to choose from.

"Overalls?" he asked, poking at them. She shook her head.

"Me either," he agreed.

"Do you need some help?" a woman asked. Nikita could see how relieved Toll was.

"Actually, yea," he answered, nodding vigorously. "I'm...I'm not so great at this."

"It's all right," she smiled. "I'm Amy."

"Chuck," Toll said back. Nikita tilted her head at him. That was not what the other men had called him. Toll shook his head at her slightly, seeing her giving him a look.

"So what are we looking for?" Amy asked.

"Nikita?" Toll prompted.

"Oohh, I love that name," Amy gushed.

"It does the job," Nikita answered. She wasn't so fond of this woman really. She seemed too excited to help. It made Nikita wary.

"She's adorable," Amy said to Toll.

"'She' is right here," Nikita commented. Toll coughed to hide his laugh. Amy's brightness dimmed a little.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Let's look at some things, okay?"

"Okay."

As they followed Amy, Toll bent down near Nikita's ear so Amy wouldn't hear.

"I think I'm gonna really enjoy having you around, kid," he said. She smiled. She couldn't help it.

...

"Okay," Toll said once they were free of Amy and back in his car. "That wasn't too terrible, was it?"

"I suppose not," Nikita answered.

"I just have to make a stop at the library, if that's all right."

"Okay."

They drove along in silence. She saw Toll looking at her in the rearview mirror a couple of times.

"You doing okay?" he asked after a while. She shrugged.

"I guess."

"You don't have to pretend with me," Toll said gently. She breathed in deep and exhaled slowly. She had a feeling she could trust Toll, but she wanted to make sure he was going to be honest with her first.

"Is your real name Chuck?"

"It's actually Chestley," he answered. "But I always went by Chuck. Toll is what the guys call me. If you don't mind not telling them, that would be great. I get enough harassment as it is." He looked at her again in the mirror.

"I won't tell," she promised.

"So, your turn. How are you really?" he asked. She was impressed that he figured out what she was up to with the name question, that she was testing him.

"I'm scared," she confessed. "I miss my mom and dad. I don't know what is going to happen to me."

"Well, I know what it's like to miss someone, so I can relate to how much that hurts," Toll said honestly. "As for what's going to happen to you, well, if you're okay staying with me, then you can stay with me for as long as you want."

"Will they find me?" she asked. This was the burning question actually. That was what her nightmare was about last night. She had dreamt they had found her and were going to kill her.

"I don't know how they could," Toll answered. "They don't know who we were."

"Could they find out?"

He hesitated, not really knowing the answer to that question.

"I'm 90 percent sure they can't find us."

"And the other 10 percent?"

"Well, I'll be damn good and ready if they do."

This answer seemed to satisfy Nikita for some reason. Then again, she had seen him kill the bad men back home after they had shot her mother. He was good at what he did. She felt safe with him.

**Barney & Gunner**

Barney sauntered over to where Gunner was sitting and whittling. His curiosity was peaked.

"You whittle? Since when?" Barney asked, hovering over his shoulder.

"Since now," Gunner answered.

"Huh."

"It passes the time."

"Right."

"What are you doing?" Gunner asked, turning his head to look at Barney.

"I couldn't help but notice earlier that you were having a good time with Nikita," Barney said. "I didn't expect that from you, if I'm honest."

Gunner was quiet for a moment.

"Well," he said after. "I find she reminds me of someone."

"Who's that?"

"This girl who lived down from me," Gunner answered. He set down his knife and piece of wood.

"I have a bad feeling about this story," Barney said.

"You're right," Gunner nodded. "I knew something was wrong with her father. I just knew it. I should've done something about it."

"What happened, Gunner?"

"He did a murder-suicide," Gunner replied, running a hand through his hair roughly. "I'll never forget the sight of that apartment. I was about two minutes too late. She died in my arms."

"Shit," Barney said, feeling bad. Gunner did his best to block out the images from his mind. They haunted him sometimes still.

"I was angry that the son of a bitch was dead before I could make him pay for what he did to that girl and his wife."

"I'm sorry, Gunner."

"Can't change the past," Gunner said, standing up then. "Gotta keep walking ahead."

"You all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna go out for a bit."

"Okay," Barney said warily. So far Gunner was still clean, that he knew of. It worried him sometimes to think that Gunner could relapse, but he had faith that Gunner was strong enough now to avoid the temptation.

**Toll Road **

"Thanks," Toll smiled as the lady scanned the books he was taking out of the library. Nikita was looking around at all the books. She had declined when Toll offered to get some for her too. He was already thinking about what to do about school for her. How would that even work? He wasn't her legal guardian on paper.

"Hey, Chuck," the librarian said, coming out of her office.

"Hey, Emma," he grinned.

"Parenting books?" she asked, curious. He blushed.

"Oh, just doing some light reading," he dismissed. "I have my...niece here for a while. I'm out of the loop on what to do with kids."

"You're always so prepared," Emma noted. It was true. She always seemed to be there when he was leaving to see what books he was taking out.

"I try," he smiled.

"Have a nice day," she said as he collected his books.

"She likes you," Nikita said as they walked outside. Toll had to collect himself quickly from the surprise.

"What?"

"She likes you," Nikita repeated. "Didn't you see the way she looked at you?"

"Um, no?"

"She took an interest in what you're reading," she went on. "She made a compliment. She flicked her hair. She likes you."

"I don't think so," Toll shook his head. Emma was not interested in him. There was no way.

"I think you're in denial."

"How are you so smart in this anyway?"

"I'm eight, I'm not stupid."

"I didn't mean that..."

"I know," she cut him off. She waited a moment before continuing. "I watched my parents interact with each other. They did this thing sometimes where they flirted with each other like they had just met one another. Emma is showing some interest in you based on what I have seen and know, but you're right, I am only eight, so I could be wrong."

"You're a very advanced eight year old," Toll said, looking at her.

"Are we done yet?" Nikita asked, changing the subject.

"Yea."

She just nodded back. She was tired, but a part of her was afraid to sleep. She didn't want anymore nightmares.

"I'm going to call this woman that I talk to and see if she can talk to you too," Toll said as they drove home. "She listens to stories you tell her about your life and helps you feel better. Do you think that might help with missing your parents?"

"I'll think about it," Nikita answered.

"Okay. That's all I ask."

She looked out the window as the landscape passed. Her new life was still unknown, and she wished that it didn't scare her so much.

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**I always appreciate reviews. They motivate me to update my stories :)**


	4. Toll's Past

The next couple of days went by, and Nikita grew to like her new environment. Toll started looking for a new apartment, though, because he knew he couldn't keep her sleeping on a pull out couch forever. She needed her own room.

"What do you think?" he asked as they walked around the place they were currently viewing.

"I like the view," she answered.

"I do too," Toll nodded. They could see Lake Pontchartrain from the main window. It was close to a beach. It was perfect.

"Can we get it?"

"I'll ask when the landlord comes back," Toll promised.

"Okay," the landlord said, coming back on cue. "How's this?" He showed Toll the papers with the rent on it. It was a bit steep, but Toll could afford it.

"I think we'll take it," Toll said, smiling at Nikita.

"Yes!" she fist pumped.

"All right. It'll be ready in a week," the landlord said.

"Perfect," Toll nodded.

"I've always wanted to live close to water," Nikita said.

"Well, now you get the chance to."

She looked at him seriously then, and he felt something in his stomach. Her looking like that reminded him of someone else who used to look at him like that.

"Thank you, Chuck," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied. She smiled again, but her face and how serious it had looked stayed with Toll for the rest of the day.

**Elsewhere**

"It's not here," Sam said, looking at his boss, Isaiah.

"What do you mean, not here?"

"It's not here."

"That girl," Isaiah said. He was looking down at the dead woman before him. She was the girl's mother. The girl had disappeared with those men. No one had bothered to come bury the dead woman, and the smell was eye watering.

"What should we do?" Sam asked.

"Find them. Quickly," Isaiah ordered. "And burn this. Now."

He stepped out, slipping his sunglasses on. He could hear Sam throwing gasoline around the small house. After a few moments, it burst into flames.

**Barney, Lee, and Toll **

"Careful with that," Lee said as Nikita pulled out his knife from it's sheath. He chuckled as she examined it. They were alone at Tool's place, Tool being off with one of his lady friends for the evening. Barney was talking to Toll, and Lee was watching Nikita.

"I like ravens," she said.

"Oh yea?"

"Yea. People don't like them, but I just think they're misunderstood."

"Why's that?"

"Someone has to do the scavenging, right?" she said, looking at him. "And sometimes finding discarded things is like finding a treasure." Lee marveled at how intelligent this girl was.

"Who taught you so much?" he asked, curious.

"I had a special teacher. She was with missionaries, and she taught me English and History and Geography. I liked Nature Studies the best, though."

"What happened to her?"

Nikita's face grew dark then.

"She died," she answered quietly. Lee felt his stomach clench.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Without warning, Nikita threw Lee's knife directly into the center of the target on the wall. Lee's jaw almost unhinged, Barney spewed his beer, and Toll just gaped in shock.

"Where did...how did...?" Toll started.

"My father," Nikita answered. "I know how to shoot too." The rage she had felt inside after remembering how her teacher had died was the reason she had thrown the knife. She tried to channel her anger in better ways, but somethings throwing something was the best option. It just happened to be a knife in her hand that time.

"Holy shit," Barney muttered to himself.

"What did your father do for a living?" Lee asked.

"He never told me," Nikita answered. "But he was always gone a lot."

Barney shared a look with Toll. More and more it was sounding like Nikita's father worked for the CIA. That would explain why Church would want that disc. If her father had it...

"Did he ever talk about where he'd traveled to?" Barney asked casually.

"He always talked about Italy," Nikita replied. "He said one day he'd move us there."

"I think I need to call Church," Barney said. "Get some more answers about this."

Nikita went back to coloring at the table, and Toll and Lee just looked at each other, feeling as though this girl was way more experienced than she should be at eight years old.

**A Few Days Later **

Toll was wrapping up his plates in the kitchen when Nikita came out from his room. She had gone in there to get another box.

"Who is this?" she asked, showing him a framed photo. Toll nearly lost hold of the plate in his hand when he saw it.

"That...that's someone from a long time ago," he answered. Nikita looked at it again.

"You look happy," she noted.

"I was very happy."

"Was she your wife?"

Toll felt his heart rate pick up and his stomach grow nauseous. He worked hard to keep his hands from shaking.

"She was, yea," he answered. "Her name was Lori."

_"I am the luckiest girl alive."_

_"Why's that?"_

_"Because I'm married to you."_

"Did Lori die?" Nikita asked, breaking into his thoughts. He looked at her, finally seeing her.

"She did," he nodded. Nikita set the photo down on the counter, and Toll couldn't stop staring at it. It was why he'd put it away. He couldn't function when all he wanted to do was look at her and take back everything just so that she could still be alive.

"I don't know what this picture is," Nikita said, handing him a smaller photo. "It's too fuzzy. It looks like a little alien or something, though."

Toll held onto it like it was a bomb going to go off. He was shaking now.

"Did she die like my mommy did?" Nikita asked, looking at Lori in the photo again. Toll's breath caught in his throat.

"Yea," he replied. "Yea, she did."

**Barney & Tool **

"Did you have fun?" Barney asked when Tool came strolling in.

"It's always fun, brother," he answered. "The real question is, did it mean something?"

"Did it?"

"Not as much as I was hoping," Tool shook his head.

"Maybe one day, huh?"

"Maybe. What are you working on?"

"I think Nikita's father was CIA."

"Well that would explain being sent to his front door by the CIA," Tool nodded.

"I wanna know what was on that disc," Barney said. "I'm thinking her father created it."

"If so, then she might know where it is."

"She doesn't know anything about what her father did for a job. She told us."

"And you believe her?"

"I do. There's something about her, Tool. I can't figure it out. She put Lee's knife into the target today," Barney said, pointing. "She knows how to shoot a gun. She was given a tutor through missionaries to get a better education. I'm starting to think there is more going on with her than we originally thought."

"Well, time will tell I guess," Tool agreed. Barney didn't say anything else as he tapped his fingers on the counter top. He wondered if anyone else knew about Nikita and what kind of fresh hell was going to be coming at them once they figured out where she'd gone.

**Toll Road **

Nikita was sleeping, but Toll couldn't. He was plagued with memories. He took a swig from his beer bottle as he sat on the steps outside his apartment. He worked hard not to get lost in them, but it was difficult. He heard a car pull up then.

"When you call me at this time of night, I can only assume it's about one thing," Caesar said, coming to join him. He sat with his hands folded, hanging off his knees. Toll didn't say anything for a few moments.

"It was my fault," Toll said then.

"No, it wasn't. We've gone over this, man," Caesar said. No one else on their team knew about this but Caesar. Toll had asked him to keep it that way.

"If she had never met me, she'd still be alive," Toll went on.

"Lori did not die because of you," Caesar said firmly. "What brought this on anyway?"

"Nikita found her picture, the one of the two of us."

"Oh shit. She asked questions?"

"Yea."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. It's my past. I can't escape it."

"It was ten years ago," Caesar pointed out.

"I loved her so much," Toll started. "And our last conversation was a fight."

Caesar had heard this all before, but he knew Toll needed to get it off his chest again, so he just listened.

"I found her painting the baby's room, and I got mad at her because the fumes were not good for her or the baby. I went out to walk it off, and I come back to find her bleeding out from a gunshot wound," Toll continued. "I just..." He pinched his nose, unable to continue. The memory assaulted him full force.

**Flashback **

_"LORI!" he shouted, landing on his knees in a skid from running into the room and seeing her on the floor. "Lori? Lori!" he picked her up in his arms, and she was gasping, blood coming out of her mouth._

_"Esther," she said. "Esther."_

_"No, no, no," Toll said, trying to stop the bleeding. "Lori, hang on." He scrambled for his phone to call for help. _

_"Esther," she said again._

_Toll realized what she was saying. They had been talking about baby names for their little girl recently. She wanted their child to be named Esther._

_"All right," he said. "I got it. I got it, Lori, but this isn't over. Hang on."_

_Lori grabbed his hand before he could dial, her eyes staring into his. _

_"I'm...sorry," she said, choking now._

_"I'm sorry too. I'm so sorry. I love you, Lori. Don't leave me. Come on, Lori!" Toll yelled. Lori managed to reach and touch his face, and then she was gone. The noise that came out of Toll was barely human. He held her in his arms until he heard the sirens. Someone else had called the police after hearing the gunshot. Then everything else was a blur._

**Present**

"I still don't know who killed her. I had just come back from a mission, so I assumed it was related to that. I never found the killer, and it drives me crazy to this die that I haven't avenged her," Toll said.

"Hard to find out who did it when there was no evidence at all," Caesar pointed out.

"I lost my two girls," Toll said, his voice thick now. "I've spent ten years not caring about what happens to me because I had nothing to live for."

"And now you do," Caesar said, realizing.

"That girl in there is counting on me," Toll said, pointing. "And I can't let her down, Hale. I can't let her down."

"You won't," Caesar said, grabbing his friend's shoulder tightly. "I know you won't."

"She said the other day that the librarian was flirting with me. I can't even think of being with another woman, not after what happened to Lori. I will not let someone else die because of me," Toll said. "I just can't."

"No one said you had to," Caesar assured him.

"What if something happens to Nikita? Huh? Then what?"

"How about we worry about that if it happens," Caesar said.

"I would rather die than let Nikita get hurt," Toll told him.

Caesar didn't respond, but he knew Toll would be true to his word. They sat together in silence for a long time after that.

* * *

**If you have time to leave a review, I'd appreciate it.**


	5. Trouble Brewing

**Barney, Toll, and Nikita**

Nikita held the photograph in her hands, and she knew just where she wanted to put it. She picked the middle shelf in the living room and set the frame gently down on it.

"Your boxes are all in your room," Toll said, coming to join her. "What are you...?" He trailed off, seeing the photo of him and Lori on their wedding day.

"I think she should be out here with us," Nikita said logically. "You love her, and she loved you. If I had a picture of my mommy and daddy, I'd put them out so I could look at them and remember them."

Toll felt that familiar stab of emotional pain, but he swallowed and smiled at her.

"Yea," he agreed. "You're right. She shouldn't be hidden away in a box."

Nikita skipped off to her room to start unpacking, leaving Toll to stare at Lori in the picture. Knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts, and he went to answer.

"All right," Barney said appreciatively, coming inside. "Nice digs."

"You like it?" Nikita asked, appearing around the corner. She'd heard him and had come out excitedly.

"I love it," Barney answered. She beamed at him, and he smiled back. She scurried off to continue what she was doing.

"I forgot how much I hate moving," Toll commented, wiping his brow.

"Yea, me too," Barney agreed. He pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Toll. "Here."

"Her papers?" Toll asked.

"Yea. She's good to go."

"I still haven't figured out what I'm going to be to her. An uncle? A friend?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Barney suggested. He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. Toll put the papers in his back pocket as he lifted the box full of plates and set them down in front of Barney. He began to unpack them.

"I could, I guess," he agreed after a moment.

"Uncle Barney!" Nikita called, returning. She had a look of excitement about her.

"What is it?" Barney asked, smiling at her.

"There's a hiding spot in my room!"

"Really?" Barney said, intrigued.

"Wanna see?"

"Do I ever," he answered. He followed her to her room, and Toll went to look at the papers again. Nikita Johnson. They used his last name, not that anyone knew his real last name aside from him (he knew Barney assumed it was just a random name since it was common enough). He wondered how okay she'd be with him posing as her uncle.

...

Barney bent to see the hiding spot in the wall in the closet, and he chuckled as Nikita crawled in to demonstrate.

"That's pretty cool," Barney said.

"I can hide in here the next time bad guys come," she told him. Barney felt sad that she had to think this way. He cleared his throat.

"There hopefully won't be a next time, darlin'," he said.

"I hope not either, but I want to be ready, like Ch-Toll," she corrected. Barney raised a brow, curious. Had she almost revealed Toll's real name? He'd never asked them to tell him, but a small part of him was always curious as to what they were. He knew Lee's first name was real, but his last name was not.

Nikita came out of her new hiding spot and dusted herself off. She loved her new room. She had things to put in it too. Toll had bought her some books as well as new stuffed animals. She had some puzzles too, which she had done once with her tutor before. She had enjoyed them then. She had refused other toys as she said she preferred to learn than play. She had missed Toll's look of sadness at this. What eight year old didn't want to play?

"Hey, Barn?" Toll called.

"Gee, you guys are pulling me in all directions," Barney teased. "See you later, kid." He reached to ruffle her hair, and she giggled. He rejoined Toll in the kitchen.

"I think I'm gonna hold off on missions for a bit til we're settled here," Toll said.

"I figured that."

"Thanks for understanding."

"Of course."

"Is Uncle Barney gonna stay for dinner?" Nikita asked then. Toll was constantly surprised about her ability to sneak around like a ghost.

"If you'll have me," Barney answered, winking.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Hope you like hot dogs and Kraft Dinner," Toll commented, smirking.

...

"Hey," Toll said as he tucked Nikita in for the night. "What do you want to call me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not your Dad. Am I an honorary uncle or just a friend?"

Nikita thought about this for a moment. She tapped her finger against her chin, which Toll thought was extremely cute.

"I like Uncle Chuck."

Toll smiled. Without really knowing it, he had wanted her to pick that.

"Okay," he agreed. "I'm your Uncle Chuck."

"Do I start school soon?" she asked.

"Yup. Next week."

"I'm excited. I miss learning."

"You're one fascinating kid, you know that?" Toll chuckled. She smiled, and he felt a warmth inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

**A Week Later**

"What's with you?" Lee asked Toll. They were sipping beers and watching Gunner have a coloring competition with Nikita. It looked like she was definitely winning. Gunner was outside of his lines a lot. It didn't help he was a little bit tipsy.

"I'm just nervous," Toll answered.

"It's her first day of school, not yours," Lee noted, giving him a nudge.

"Maybe, but I just worry about her being out of my sight for eight hours a day," Toll explained. "What if they come for her?"

"How would they even know who we were?" Lee countered. "I'm fairly confident she's safe here, man."

"I hope so," Toll said, sighing.

"Oohhh!" Nikita hollered, putting her hands in the air when she finished her picture. Gunner was still scribbling furiously. At one point, his crayon went through the paper.

"Damn it," he said.

"Hey, Gunner, it's just coloring," Barney commented. "You don't have to attack it."

"Done," Gunner said, slamming his crayon down. Nikita giggled as she compared their pictures. Gunner was grinning. Toll noticed he had stopped drinking once Nikita had arrived, but he had a while to go before he had worn off his earlier drinks.

"I think Teddy is a bit biased in judging these pictures," Gunner was saying, pointing at the stuffed bear. Toll smiled. It was her favorite. She was never without it. He didn't know how she was going to survive all day at school with Teddy at home.

"She'll be just fine," Lee said to Toll. "And so will you."

Toll sure hoped so.

**Toll & Nikita**

The next day, they both stood outside the school building, and Nikita held onto Toll's hand tightly.

"You remember your story?" he asked.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "Mom and Dad died in an accident. You're my legal guardian now."

"You nervous?"

She nodded a little. Then she looked up at him.

"I guess it's time to rip off the bandaid," she said after a moment. He nodded, and they walked in together. They found her classroom easily enough. Her teacher, Mrs. Woods, was a smiley, friendly looking woman. Her blonde hair was in a tight bun, and her cheek bones looked sharp enough to cut a steak. Toll swallowed.

"Hi! You must be Nikita," she beamed.

"Hi."

"And you're Chuck?"

"That's me," Toll nodded.

"So lovely to have you join us," Mrs. Woods said, bending down in front of Nikita. "I think you'll like it here."

"I hope so," Nikita said.

"Your desk is just over here," Mrs. Woods gestured. Nikita looked at Toll again, and he nodded. She released his hand and followed her teacher to her chair. Toll backed out of the room slowly, giving her a thumb's up and smile. She gave a weak smile back. He left and spent the rest of the day worried about her and whether or not she was enjoying school.

...

Toll tapped his fingers anxiously on his steering wheel as he waited for Nikita to exit the school at the end of the day. He was about to get out and go find her when she appeared on the steps. She was alone, and she was hunched over. Toll felt his stomach clench. What had happened? She saw his truck and came over, climbing in and shutting the door behind her.

"How'd it go?" he asked her.

"Not great," she answered honestly.

"What happened?"

"Apparently my name is amusing to some."

"Come again?" Toll asked, not believing his ears.

"They were talking about some assassin with the same name," she explained. "I don't get it."

Toll did. He remembered that film from the 90s. Who the hell would know about it in this day and age, though? He frowned to himself.

"Well, they're idiots," he told her. "Cos I think your name is beautiful."

She finally gave him a smile, but she still had sadness in her eyes. He reached over to squeeze her shoulder.

"You want some pizza?" he asked. He had introduced her to that not long after she'd arrived, and she loved it as much as she loved grilled cheese.

"Okay," she answered, brightening a little. Toll smiled as he started the truck and drove away.

**Barney **

He was working underneath his plane when the noise made him pause. He listened, recognizing the sound of feet trying to be silent. He reached for his gun from its holster. The hair on his arms stood up straight. He held his breath and focused on where the sound was coming from specifically. Once he had it, he whipped around, gun aimed.

The man ducked, and Barney fired. He missed, making him curse. He hurried out from under his plane just as a bullet whizzed past him. They shot at each other back and forth, and Barney wondered if the guy was a terrible shot or if he was stalling.

"Who are you?!" he shouted.

A bullet past the end of his nose was their response. Barney reloaded and reached for his phone. He had no signal, which made him frown. How was that possible? Unless...

"Hold it right there," a voice said, making Barney look behind him and groan. Three other men had snuck up on him while the other guy had kept him busy.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Gun, please," the man said, holding out his hand. Barney reluctantly handed it over. The man gestured for him to stand up, so he did, arms held out in front of him.

"What do you want?" Barney asked. The man smiled. He was Caucasion with black, short hair. A tattoo of a dragon was on his arm. He was well built and almost six feet tall. Two of the three men with him were African American. The third was Caucasion. Barney had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly where these men were from.

"The girl. Where is she?" the man asked, confirming Barney's fears.

"No idea what you're talking about," he answered. "Does it look like this is a kid friendly place?"

His comment received a blow to the face by the man in response. Barney didn't make a sound. He glared back.

"Tell me where she is, and no one has to die."

"Sure. You say that now, but we both know you're lying," Barney started. He got hit again, which was only making him angrier.

"I know she's here," the man went on.

"What is your name, wise guy?"

The man chuckled, amused.

"Sam, not that it's any of your business. I'm only going to ask you one more time where the girl is," Sam said. Barney saw Lee in the shadows, so he tried to buy some time.

"I haven't seen her. We left her back where she belonged. Your place, I think," Barney told him.

Unfortunately, Sam picked up on Lee's presence easier than Barney had hoped. He ducked the knife, which skimmed Barney's cheek. He lunged for Sam, who bolted away like a deer and made Barney miss. He landed hard on his stomach. Lee managed to get one of Sam's men with another knife, but the other two were gone like a bullet from a gun. Barney got up and stood over the fallen man, the other Caucasian, and he sighed. If only Lee hadn't aimed to kill. They could have gotten some answers.

"You're welcome," Lee commented, coming over to him.

"I had it under control," Barney said.

"Sure you did."

"He's looking for Nikita. We gotta warn Toll," Barney said, ignoring the last jab. He pulled out his phone. "Someone has jammed my signal, though."

"They're techies then, huh?" Lee asked, seeing that his phone had no service as well.

"Seems that way."

"That leaves me to assume that what Church is looking for is in that same category."

"I don't doubt it," Barney agreed. "Come on."

They ran out of his hangar together to warn Toll.

* * *

**I hope someone out there is still enjoying this story. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Snatched

**Toll & Nikita**

"It'll get better," Toll promised. He watched Nikita eat slowly and still appear solemn from her first day of school.

"I don't see how."

"It's been one day," he laughed. "You can't judge the entire experience by one day."

"Okay. When the year is over and still was bad, then I'll judge it by today," Nikita promised.

"All right," Toll agreed. "I'll give you that one."

He saw his phone ringing, and he ignored it. He didn't feel up to talking to Barney right now. Lee called right after, and he ignored it too. He was not in the mood.

"What's going on?" Nikita asked as Toll's phone started to blow up with text messages from both Lee and Barney.

"Oh, shit," Toll said, reading them and panicking.

"What?" Nikita asked again.

"Nothing," Toll lied. "Just work stuff." He didn't want to scare her. He had to get them to Barney without her sensing something was wrong. He cursed himself for feeling relaxed. Of course they would come for her. She obviously meant something to them.

"I haven't known you for long, but I know when you're lying," Nikita said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Just tell me."

"How about we go to Barney's and hang out there for a while?" Toll asked instead.

"Now you're deflecting."

"I don't even want to know how you know what that word means," Toll replied.

"I had a very smart tutor."

"Right."

He stood up then, and she followed suit. He grabbed her backpack for her, and they walked out together. Toll looked around the street nervously, but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He opened the truck door for Nikita and closed it once she was inside. He kept looking as he went around to his side and got in.

"They're here, aren't they?" Nikita asked once he started the truck. He looked at her.

"What? Who?"

"Don't play dumb. There are people here to get me," she said. "From home."

"We can talk more about this at Barney's."

"No, tell me now," she ordered, becoming upset. Toll's phone rang, and he answered.

"Barney, what's going on?"

"They're looking for you. Where are you?"

"Coming your way," Toll answered. "Just left Pizza Hut."

"Be careful."

"Yea," Toll said, hanging up. He gripped the wheel hard as he drove, ignoring Nikita's prompts to tell him what was happening. He felt like his worst nightmare was coming true...again.

**Tool's Place **

"What's the plan?" Toll asked when he arrived with Nikita.

"Three guys," Barney answered. "Shouldn't be hard to take out."

"How did they find you?" Toll asked once Barney filled him in on what had happened.

"No idea."

Toll and Barney looked over to where Gunner was entertaining Nikita, but she was looking back at them. She had her teddy held tightly in her arms. That told Toll she was scared, and he hated that she was scared. He hadn't realized she had tucked the bear into her backpack that morning.

"What do you think they want?" Toll asked.

"I don't know. They wanted to know where she was," Barney answered. "I think her father was CIA. I tried talking to Church, but I just got the runaround. I think her father created that disc Church wanted, and I think that they think Nikita knows where it is."

"Ah, shit," Toll said, gripping his head. This was a lot worse than he'd imagined.

"Oddly enough, I think they could be right," Barney went on. Toll snapped his head to look at him.

"What? Are you insane?"

"It's just a hunch," Barney answered. He was watching Nikita carefully.

"No. She doesn't know anything," Toll insisted. "She's only eight."

"You and I both know she's very advanced for her age," Barney said. "I don't think we're giving her enough credit."

Toll knew Barney was right. He knew he'd have to talk to Nikita.

"So what do we do in the meantime? I mean, they've probably found my place by now," Toll said.

"Maybe not."

"I don't think we should go back there..."

"Stay here tonight," Tool said, cutting in. He'd been eavesdropping. "There's enough of us here to deter them."

"Okay," Toll agreed. He hoped Nikita would understand.

**Nikita**

She knew Toll was afraid. Just like she knew how he was lying, she also knew what fear looked like in his expression. Her tutor had taught her how to read people's faces, and Toll's was like an open book. She'd been tucked in bed a long time ago, but she couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about the men after her. Who were they? And what did they want? She knew that much at least, that men were here for her. Toll wouldn't tell her anything more.

She stopped shaking her leg when she heard the door move and someone breathing. It was one of them checking on her, she knew. When they were gone, she went back to shaking her leg. It comforted her and helped her sleep. Eventually, she did fall asleep.

**Toll Road**

The next day, she went to school even though Toll thought it was a bad idea. She insisted that she couldn't miss her second day of school. Toll reluctantly agreed, but he stayed parked out front. Lee, Gunner, and Barney were stationed in a separate vehicle.

The day dragged on, and Toll was beginning to feel like an idiot for worrying so much. Then again, when your guard was down, that was when bad things happened. He knew that. He thought of Lori again. Thinking of her always caused pain. He tried not to think about her.

"Something's bugging you," Barney noted. He was watching Toll carefully. "And I'm not talking about this whole Nikita thing."

"It's just that," Toll lied. Barney snorted.

"Right, and I'm Santa Claus," he commented. "Out with it."

"It's personal."

"That's my middle name," Barney said. "Just talk to me."

"I really would rather not," Toll insisted.

"You lost someone close to you, and you're scared of losing that kid because of it," Barney said. He stuck his cigar back into his mouth. Toll made him have the window down while he smoked it.

Toll said nothing. Had Caesar said something? Or was Barney just that intuitive?

"This is boring as hell," Lee's voice came over the comms.

"Don't stand near the playground," Gunner's voice came. "They don't like that."

"Did you seriously need someone to tell you that?" Lee asked, incredulous.

Barney started to laugh. Toll cracked a smile, but that was it. His mind was too focused on what would happen if someone took Nikita.

**Elsewhere**

Sam was biding his time. He knew eventually he'd find that girl in this small town. He was parked a bit down from where Barney was. He'd gotten the information from a CIA member who was willing to play dirty instead of get killed. Well, they killed that person anyway, but they got what they needed first. He knew the whole team. He just didn't know where they all lived, but all he had to do was find one and follow.

"Boss?" Omar asked, looking at him. He and Jake were the last remaining men on his team. Sam mourned the loss of Trent. He was very good at what he did, but obviously not as good as Lee Christmas.

"Not yet," Sam answered. It had to be planned just right. There were four of them and only three of Sam's team. Stealth was required. It was why he had on an orange worker's vest and a hard hat. His phone vibrated with a message.

**Update?**

**Waiting for perfect opportunity.**

**Keep me posted.**

**Will do.**

Sam sighed and drummed his fingers on the car door. Then, the bell rang, indicating school was over.

**Nikita**

Nikita felt like someone was watching her when she walked through the halls towards the exit. She knew Toll was waiting for her. She knew the other men were keeping watch, but something didn't feel right. She pulled out her teddy bear, her father's last gift. He'd told her to always take it with her as it would keep her safe. She clung to it as she walked. She needed to feel her father with her now.

She saw Toll standing at the edge of the crowd and headed his way. There were so many kids outside now. She walked fast.

"Hello, little lady," a voice said. An arm grabbed her from behind and lifted her up. She screamed. She lost her teddy as the man hurried through the crowd to a side street, following a group of kids.

"Stranger danger!" a boy shouted. Nikita heard the man growl in response. She screamed again.

**Toll, Lee, Gunner, and Barney**

"Son of a..." Barney started as he flung open the door to the truck and rushed out. Lee and Gunner were already running towards where Nikita had been grabbed. Toll couldn't get her scream out of his head. He got ambushed by another guy, who was holding him off to give the kidnapper time to run with Nikita. Toll didn't want to kill the man in front of all the kids, so he fought back hard until he managed to knock the guy out cold.

"Gunner, hold him," Barney ordered as he ran past. Lee was in front of him. Gunner stopped to secure the one man. Toll raced after Barney and Lee. The man and Nikita were ahead.

"CHUCK!" she was screaming.

"Who the hell is Chuck?" Lee demanded, out of breath as he and Barney ran side by side now.

"It's Toll," Barney realized.

"Bastard waited til there was kids around so we couldn't shoot 'im," Lee said angrily. They rounded the corner to find the man getting into his SUV and peeling off with Nikita. Barney got the make, model, and license plate for Tool to search. They stopped running when the SUV disappeared. Toll almost crashed into them.

"Tell me she really isn't in that car," he said. "Please."

"I'm sorry, Toll," Barney said.

"I was right there," Toll went on. "Right there! How did this happen?!"

"He was dressed like a worker. We weren't looking for that," Barney answered. "I'm sorry."

Lee went back to the school where students and teachers were staring at him. He bent to pick up Nikita's abandoned teddy. Gunner had the man secured.

"What happened?!" Mrs. Woods asked when Toll came into view.

"It's all right. We've got it under control."

"But...the police."

"We are our own special task force," Barney lied. "We are on this. Don't you worry."

They all left Mrs. Woods standing there shocked.

**Tool's Place **

Toll was sick to his stomach. Nikita would be so afraid. He didn't even know where to find the thing those men were looking for.

"It must be pretty damn important for them to take her," Barney said. Lee was turning the teddy over and over in his hands. She was only eight. He was angry that she couldn't feel safe and had this happen to her.

"How did they find us?" Toll demanded.

"Let's ask him," Gunner suggested, jerking his thumb to the room where their captive was sitting.

"Good idea," Barney agreed, getting up and joining Gunner as they went inside and closed the door. The sound of fist on bone followed by grunting followed not too long after.

"I failed her," Toll said miserably. "I told her I'd keep her safe."

"And she will be once these lunatics are gone," Lee promised.

"And if we're too late?" Toll asked. Lee gave him a look.

"Don't even go there. Don't do that to yourself."

Toll didn't respond. He couldn't stop thinking it. Barney and Gunner emerged before too long.

"What did I miss?" Caesar asked, rushing in. He had been with his own family out of range and just got the news.

"Buddy in there says a CIA rat gave away my location," Barney explained. "He also shared that what they are looking for is a piece of technology that will find anyone they want in a matter of seconds."

"High tech shit," Lee muttered. He was looking at the teddy now, frowning.

"Her father has obviously hidden it well," Tool said. He was sitting back but listening. He was trying to find the SUV on his laptop in the background.

"She is never without this thing," Lee said, making them all look at him.

"Your point is?" Barney asked. Lee's response was to snap out his knife and turn the teddy bear so it was bottoms up.

"Whoa, whoa!" Toll shouted. "You can't just mutilate her favorite toy! It was the last thing her father gave to...oh."

"Caught up?" Lee asked.

"Just don't destroy it," Toll insisted.

"I'm just doing a little surgery," Lee replied.

"More like a colonoscopy," Gunner sniggered.

Lee gently cut a hole and stuck his finger inside, rooting around, which made Gunner hoot even more at his own line of thinking based on what Lee was doing.

"This reminds me of my damn physical," Caesar said, shifting uncomfortable.

"It's a stuffed toy," Lee said to them, his tone annoyed. "Get over yourselves."

"Anything?" Toll asked, ignoring the others.

"Ha," Lee said, feeling something and pulling it out. He held it up for all to see. "Bingo."

"Memory stick," Barney nodded.

"Not a disc," Caesar commented. "Church got bad information."

"Still, we have it now," Barney said as Lee handed it to him. "With this, we will get Nikita back."

"You're just going to hand over high tech shit like that to bad guys?!" Caesar asked, shocked.

"Oh, no," Barney answered. "But they're gonna think we are."

It was time to make a plan to get their girl back.

* * *

**Thoughts? Anyone?**


	7. The Truth Will Bring You Hector

Nikita was trying not to be afraid. The men had locked her into a room with a very high, small window. She couldn't reach it, and there was nothing to stand on to help her reach it. She sat in the corner, hugging her knees tightly. She didn't know what the men wanted. They had asked her over and over where her father's work was, and she insisted she didn't know. The one man had moved to slap her when the other stopped him. Nikita felt it was a ploy to make her like him more and trust him enough to tell him what he wanted to know. The thing was, Nikita really didn't know what they were talking about let alone where to find it.

"Hurry, Chuck," she whispered as she rocked back and forth. "Please hurry."

**Tool's Place**

"Looks like a good substitute, right?" Barney asked, gesturing to the memory stick.

"And what happens when they find out what they are looking for is not on that stick?" Toll asked. He was watching Tool on his computer as the program Nikita's father created flashed on the screen.

"What the hell is that anyway?" Caesar asked, bending to look.

"It is indeed a program that finds people," Tool answered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I'm no computer wizard, but I'd say it's a powerful device to have."

"Just for shits and giggles, look me up," Barney said. Tool typed in Barney's name, and within seconds it showed Barney's exact location.

"Why aren't we destroying this again?" Gunner asked, stunned. Even Barney was taken aback.

"Because in the right hands, it is very, very useful," a voice said. Everyone turned to see Church standing there. He stepped closer to them, reaching out his hand. "I'll take that."

"What about the crew that is after it?" Barney asked.

"You're gonna get them for me," Church insisted.

"I have a child to rescue," Toll argued.

"After you do that," Church said. "I'm not an animal."

"They're gonna want to real deal in order for us to get her back," Barney explained. "My fake one will only get us in the door."

"Well, let's hope you don't need to go farther than that," Church said. "Cos I'm not letting this thing fall into their hands."

"Who are 'they' exactly?" Lee asked.

"Isaiah Fletcher and Sam King," Church answered. "Sam's the muscle man, so he's the one who took your girl. Isaiah is the brains behind everything, but our guess is that even he has a boss. We just don't know who that is."

"Where is Isaiah?" Barney asked.

"He moved after your mission in Africa," Church answered. "He's somewhere in France now."

"That will find him in seconds," Gunner said, pointing at the memory stick Church was holding.

"Oh, I know. That's what I'm counting on," Church smirked. "Get your girl, and we'll finish this by taking down Isaiah."

"Give me that back," Tool ordered, snatching the stick from Church and putting it back into his computer as Church protested.

"Sam King, you said?" Barney asked as Tool typed furiously. Within seconds, the had the man's location. He was ten minutes away in an abandoned house.

"Let's go," Barney said, nodding. Church yanked the stick back from Tool, putting it in his pocket as he disappeared.

...

Lee, Gunner, Barney, Caesar, and Toll surrounded the house. Toll's heart was hammering in his chest. He didn't want to lose Nikita. He had made her a promise, and he was going to hold her to it.

"We'll get her," Lee assured him, squeezing his shoulder tightly.

"Thermals indicate there are five people in there," Gunner said.

"Five?" Barney asked. "He only had one left from the three he started with."

"He's recruited," Lee commented. "Or they arrived later to help out."

"Regardless, we go in, get Nikita, and get out," Barney instructed. "Hopefully we don't need to use this at all." He gestured to his pocket where the fake memory stick was being kept.

"Caesar, you and Gunner take front entrance with me. Toll and Lee, you go to the back. Hopefully our fire out front will draw them to us and give you the chance to sneak in," Barney went on. "We good?"

"We good," Gunner answered, nodding. Toll and Lee crept to the back of the house where they saw one man smoking on the back step. They kept their heads low, waiting for their cue to go inside.

"There," Toll said, nudging Lee and pointing to a small window in the house. "I bet you she's in whatever room that is."

"You're probably right," Lee agreed. A gunshot went off, and the smoker flicked his cigarette and ran back inside. More gunshots went off, and Lee and Toll quietly went in the back door. They saw four men facing the front and firing back at Barney and the others. Toll went up the stairs first with Lee behind him. Toll found a door that looked locked, and he started to pick it as Lee kept watch. Shouting and gunshots went on downstairs.

"Got it," Toll said, flinging the door open. The room, however, was empty.

"Where is she?" Lee asked, confused. Toll checked everywhere in that small space, but Nikita wasn't there.

Her scream came from downstairs, making the hair on Toll's neck and arms stand straight up.

**Nikita**

She had tried to bite the man holding her, but he was too strong for her. They were standing in the middle of the room now, and Barney, Gunner, and Caesar were standing in front of them, guns aimed at the man.

"Let her go," Barney warned.

"I think I'm in the better position to negotiate," the man said.

"Sam King, I think you don't realize what's coming down the line for you," Barney went on. The man stiffened at the use of his full name. Nikita hoped Toll was somewhere with Lee. She didn't see them.

"You've been chatting with someone," Sam noted.

"Oh yea. He's got it out bad for you," Barney taunted.

"Give me the stick, and she's free to go," Sam returned.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't. How else did you find me so fast? I know you used it. Don't lie to me," Sam said, pressing his gun into Nikita's temple harder. She whimpered.

"We used old fashioned street camera footage," Barney said.

"No," Sam said, shaking his head. "You have it. I can see it in your eyes. You've been moved by it's power. Give it to me. Now!"

"Drop it," Toll said, his gun pressing into Sam's head. "Now."

Lee took Sam's gun out of his hands when he faltered and scooped Nikita out of his grasp, taking her out of harm's way. The remaining two men standing with Sam put their guns on the floor.

"Quitters," Sam hissed. They didn't respond as Gunner and Caesar went to secure them. Toll had the honor of securing Sam. At this point, Church had arrived with his men.

"Sam, Sam, Sam," he tutted. "Sloppy work."

"Your friend was the reason we got this far," Sam shot back.

"Oh, we know all about him and his dirty little ways," Church replied, stifling a yawn. "He wasn't news to us."

"He's dead."

"Good riddance," Church shrugged. "Now, you're going away for a very long time."

Sam said nothing as he was carted out by the CIA members.

"Good work," Church said to Barney and the team. Nikita had left Lee and rushed over to Toll at this point, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back just as tightly.

"Where is Isaiah?" Barney asked. "Let's get this over with."

"Toulouse," Church answered. "I'm sending you his exact coordinates now. Good luck."

"Thanks, "Barney said, hearing his phone go off. Church bobbed his head and left, taking Sam and his remaining two henchmen with him.

"Are we safe now?" Nikita asked, looking up at Toll.

"For now. I have to finish this," Toll explained.

"No," Barney shook his head. "You stay here. We got this."

Toll was grateful for this. He knew Barney understood that.

"Told you," Lee said to Toll as they walked out together. They grinned at each other. Yes, he was right. They did get Nikita back safe and sound.

**Days Later **

"Have you heard anything from Uncle Barney?" Nikita asked. Toll looked up from his book.

"Not yet."

"They're okay, right?"

"I'm sure they are," Toll answered. He felt uneasy, but he knew his team was the best. Nikita was still exploring their new home. She had just now discovered a box labeled "Lori's Stuff." She picked out a CD because she thought there might be music on it.

"Can I play this?" she asked, showing Toll.

"Sure," he nodded. She went to put it in the CD player, but nothing happened. She frowned.

"Is it broken?" she asked. Toll got up and went to look. He pulled it out and put it back in, and still nothing happened.

"Hm," he said. "Let's try the computer, shall we?"

Nikita followed him. Toll had no idea what was on the CD. It wasn't labeled, and he had just thrown all of Lori's stuff into a box after she'd died. He didn't even register that he'd found that CD hidden away in their bedroom until this moment. He paused, wondering just what he was about to find.

**France **

"Stay on him!" Barney shouted. Lee and Gunner were on foot and racing after Isaiah. He'd been easy enough to find, and he didn't have enough bodyguards with him. It was like he thought no one would ever be after him.

"Duck!" Lee shouted as Isaiah fired off shots over his shoulder. Bullets whizzed over Gunner and Lee's heads.

"We're gonna cut him off!" Caesar shouted through the comms.

"About bloody time," Lee panted. He jumped over a bike that Isaiah had knocked over as he passed. Gunner was a bit ahead of him now. Isaiah was five feet ahead of Gunner, and suddenly, a car screeched into view and skidded into Isaiah, sending him flying. Caesar got out and pointed his gun at Isaiah, who was groaning and moaning on the ground in pain.

"Get up," he ordered, lifting Isaiah up by the arm and securing him.

"Nice one," Gunner commented as he came to a stop. Lee arrived last. He was very out of breath.

"Church wants him alive," Barney said.

"He's alive," Caesar argued. "See?" He gave Isaiah a shake, making the man cry out in pain.

Lee and Gunner laughed as they all got into the car and drove off. They were to meet Church in Germany. Then they could go home.

**Toll & Nikita**

"It's data," Nikita said after Toll put the CD into the laptop and a document popped up.

"I see that," Toll agreed.

"Can I read it?" Nikita asked hopefully. After seeing Lori's name, Toll decided he needed to be alone for this one.

"It's adult stuff, hon," he said. "Sorry."

"Oh. Okay," she said, pouting a little. She went off to work on the puzzle they'd started in the living room. Toll watched her get settled before turning his eyes back to the computer screen. He read, and he felt more and more shocked as he did so.

"What?" he breathed. "What is this?"

His wife's name was behind the title "Detective." He read some more, and he learned that Lori was a police officer. She did undercover work. Her last case had been trying to locate and take down a human trafficking ring. The man she was trying to get close to was Hector Levitz.

Toll was breathing very hard at this point. Then he saw his name. He clicked on it, shocked to see him and all his team members' info on it. She'd known he was a mercenary? She'd never said a word. He thought hard to when they'd first met. She had been all over him, and they started dating. She never asked about his job. She never let on she was a cop. Toll's head was hurting badly at this point. He opened a document that had his name on it and read.

**"Discontinuing as Chestley was wrongly assumed to be a part of this mercenary group. He has no ties to it. He's legit. Case closed."**

She had lied for him. Toll had no idea how to process this. Then he remembered something she'd said to him once.

_"You changed my mind on a lot of things," she was saying as she pressed her hand into his cheek. "I love you, and I knew that I loved you the moment I saw you. I had to get to know you. My gut instinct was right about you."_

_"In what way?" he asked, chuckling._

_"That you're worth it."_

Toll blinked and came back to the present moment. Then he looked at the name Hector again and clicked on the file with his name. A bunch of documents and photos of Hector came up. The more Toll dug, the more he realized how everything was connected. He called Barney, hoping his friend was somewhere safe by now.

"Yea?" Barney's voice answered.

"You good?"

"Yea. We got 'im."

"Listen, I know who his boss is."

"Oh? How?"

"Something I found. I'll explain later," Toll said quickly.

"Okay...who is it?"

"Hector Levitz."

"Where do we find him?"

"Better ask Church to do that," Toll answered. His mind was still racing. Lori was an undercover cop. Her last words were "Esther." Only, was that what she was saying? He thought hard. "Esther" and "Hector" were pretty close, especially when you were dying and trying to say it. Was she trying to tell him that Hector had killed her?

"Will do. You guys holding up okay?"

"Yea," Toll answered. "We're good here."

"Are you really?" a voice asked, making Toll whip his head to see a man standing there pointing a gun at his face. Nikita was being held by a second person, a hand over her mouth.

"Shit," Toll said.

"What?" Barney asked.

"I found Hector."

"Where?!"

"In my kitchen."

"Hang it up. Now," Hector ordered, gesturing with his gun. Toll disconnected from Barney and stared at Hector, who smiled at him.

"I see you put it together," he noted. "Lori was impeccable at her job. She almost got me, you know."

"You killed her," Toll said.

"I had to. I had a business to protect."

"And what do you want with me?" Toll asked.

"You have what I want. We call it something like God's Brain, you know? It works in that way. We imagine anyway."

"I don't have it. Church has it."

"Well," Hector said, grinning. "Then we'll hang onto her while you go get it for us, no?"

Toll felt his stomach drop as they started to back out with Nikita. He'd just gotten her back, and she was being stolen from him again. He was beyond furious.

"He's in Germany. I can't..." Toll started.

"Tell them to let Isaiah go, and tell them if they don't, she dies," Hector said. He tossed Toll a burn phone. "Let's just start with that for now. I will contact you in an hour."

"Take me," Toll said, standing up. "Leave her out of this."

"But she is worth more to me than you are," Hector insisted. "You know what line of work I do."

"I'm just as valuable. Trust me," Toll countered. Hector considered this for a moment before gesturing to his partner to let Nikita go. She scrambled to Toll, who put his arm around her as she clung to him.

"It'll be okay," he told her. "Just stay here and wait for Barney. Call him." He gave her his phone. "Tell him what the man wants, okay?"

"Please don't go," Nikita begged.

"It's to keep you safe, and I promised you that," Toll said, detaching himself from her grip. He went over to Hector, who grinned again and gave him a shove towards the door.

"Consider yourself lucky that I'd rather kill you than her," Hector said as they walked to his SUV.

"And why's that?" Toll asked.

"Because you took Lori from me in the first place," Hector answered. Toll was knocked out before he could respond.


	8. Game Plan

**I just realized it's been a year tomorrow since I've gotten a review for this story. I really hope someone is still enjoying it.**

* * *

**Flashback**

_Lori sat on the edge of their bed, crying. She'd just had a huge fight with her husband, Chuck, that caused him to leave, but she knew he went by Toll to his coworkers. It had been part of her undercover work. She was to not only find Hector Levitz and take him down, but she was to get intel on the mercenary group that the CIA hired to do work for and take them down too. The thing was that she had found them, but she didn't have the heart to stop them. She'd also fallen in love with Toll. It was at first sight, really. The problem was that she was undercover and dating Hector at the time. It had been part of her plan to get close to Hector. Then, they'd pulled her out from the job, declaring it too dangerous, and she left Hector. He'd been furious, and he'd somehow found out about Toll. She spent a lot of time looking over her shoulder now._

_As she cried, she thought about her relationship with Toll. She knew he hadn't meant to get so angry at her, that he was scared the paint fumes would hurt the baby. She knew he was probably right, but she just couldn't handle not doing something to help out. She felt so useless, and she was not used to that._

_A noise made her look up._

_"Chuck?" she called. She stood to go see if it was him and decided to just hug him and get over the stupid argument. She loved him too much to fight over something so silly._

_"Honey, I'm home," Hector said, appearing._

_Lori stopped in her tracks, fear building high in her chest._

_"Surprised? Didn't think I'd find you? You clearly don't know me as well as you thought, do you, Detective?" Hector asked. She wondered how he had found out. She had been so careful._

_"I can explain..."_

_"The time for explaining is over. You betrayed me not only by leaving me for some other man, but you betrayed me by being a damn cop. You're dead," Hector said, aiming his gun._

_"NO!" Lori screamed, but he fired. The bullet ripped into her chest, and she knew she was a goner. Hector was gone within seconds, and Lori fell to the floor, clutching at her wound. Not long after, she heard Toll return._

_"Hey, I'm back," he called, his footsteps on the floor. "I'm sorry. This was so stupid. I know you just want to help..."_

_Lori closed her eyes, knowing in five seconds he would see her._

_"LORI!" he shouted, landing on his knees in a skid from running into the room and seeing her on the floor. "Lori? Lori!" he picked her up in his arms, and she gasped, blood coming out of her mouth. She opened her eyes again, looking at him._

_"Esther," she said. "Esther." It was coming out wrong. She needed him to know it was Hector, that Toll was probably not safe now either._

_"No, no, no," Toll said, trying to stop the bleeding. "Lori, hang on." He scrambled for his phone to call for help._

_"Esther," she said again. She hated her tongue for mixing it up. She knew he'd think it was a name for their baby._

_Their baby. Oh God. She was going to lose their baby too. Toll would never be the same after this._

_"All right," he said. "I got it. I got it, Lori, but this isn't over. Hang on."_

_Lori grabbed his hand before he could dial, her eyes staring into his. He didn't get it. She knew he didn't. She had to at least tell him she was sorry for this fight, for not telling him the truth about who she was. She knew one day he'd find all of her information, and when he did, he was probably going to be angry and hurt._

_"I'm...sorry," she said, choking now._

_"I'm sorry too. I'm so sorry. I love you."_

_His voice was the last thing she heard._

**Present**

After he regained consciousness, Toll thought a lot about Lori as Hector's driver drove them to wherever he was going to be killed. He was thinking about when she was dying and how she had tried to warn him about Hector. He now realized she had been apologizing for more than just their fight. She had been apologizing for not telling him who she really was. It explained her business trips and the odd bruise or cut she'd come home with. Thinking about it now, Toll was almost laughing. He had come home with injuries too that he'd never told her the truth about. They both had lived their lives separately when they could have been a team.

"She was mine first," Hector said, breaking the silence. "She came from nowhere, which should have been my first clue, but she was so beautiful. We were dating, and then she up and left. I followed her once, and I found her with you. Then you both disappeared, but I knew I'd find you again, and I spent a while plotting my revenge on both of you until I discovered she was really an undercover cop. That was her final nail in her coffin, literally."

Toll didn't even hesitate. He reached forward with his bound hands and popped Hector right in the nose.

"Augh!" Hector exclaimed, blood gushing out.

Hector's man pulled Toll back and smacked him upside the head in return, hard.

"Well," Hector said, laughing now. "Hit a sore spot, did I? You see, her being a cop overshadowed the fact that she left me for you. I figured you were just a job to her. Then you go and get all caught up in my business a couple weeks ago, and I find myself feeling annoyed again that she married you. I got to thinking that maybe you weren't just a cover for her, and that made me want to hurt you all over again."

"You'll get your chance soon enough," Toll commented.

"Oh yes. I will."

Toll tried not to think about how scared Nikita would be right now.

**Nikita **

She worked very hard to control her breathing after Toll was taken away. She did her best not to think of those she had lost and how Toll could easily be added to that list. She was beginning to think she was a curse, that anyone she cared about was going to be killed.

"Focus," she told herself as she opened Toll's phone. She had to find Barney's number. She did her best to still her hands as she found his contact information and called him.

If anyone could save Toll, it would be Barney.

**Germany**

"What happened?" Lee asked when Barney stared at his phone after Toll disconnected with him.

"Looks like Isaiah's boss just showed himself to Toll," Barney answered.

"What?!" Caesar exclaimed. Gunner even looked worried. Isaiah was sitting and smiling at them all, not saying a word. They were waiting for Church to get there, but Caesar and Gunner had already spent some time interrogating him first.

"Think they killed them?" Lee dared to ask. He worked to keep his anxiety down.

On cue, Barney's phone rang.

"It's Toll," Barney said. "Buddy, what happened?!"

"They took Toll," Nikita answered, her voice wobbly.

"Do you know where?"

"No," she replied. "They said to tell you to let Isaiah go and they wouldn't kill him. They also want the brain thing."

"Did he leave you any way of being contacted by him?" Barney questioned.

"Yes. He left a phone. He said he would call in an hour."

"Okay."

"Well, well," Church said, coming in with three men behind him at this moment. "Isaiah in the flesh. You've been dodging us for a while now."

"Church, we need to talk," Barney said. He handed the phone to Lee. "Here, keep talking to her."

Lee took the phone and walked away with it.

"What's going on?" Church asked as he and Barney stepped away from Isaiah.

"Isaiah's boss, Hector Levitz, just kidnapped Toll. He wants Isaiah's release and the program."

"Well, he's not getting either," Church answered.

"I'm not going to let one of my men die over this," Barney argued. Church crossed his arms and gave him a look.

"We're talking one man versus thousands here," he said.

"Yes, but we also know that the leader of this whole thing has Toll. Let's be smart about this. If we do things right, we can get Hector and take him down with his entire organization."

"You have a point there," Church agreed. "You got a plan?"

"I'm working on it."

"Don't take too long, huh?" Church commented.

Barney didn't answer. His mind was racing a hundred miles an hour.

**Nikita **

"I'm scared," she said.

"I know," Lee replied. "I'm going to call someone to come be with you until we get there, okay?"

"Who?"

"A friend of mine."

"Are they nice?"

"She's very nice."

"Okay."

"Hang in there, okay?" Lee asked. "We'll get this mess sorted out before you know it."

Nikita didn't want to hang up, but she knew he had to in order to help with the situation. She curled up on the floor in the corner of the kitchen and waited for Lee's friend to arrive.

**Lee**

He hung up with Nikita knowing she was reluctant for him to do so. He pulled out his phone and immediately called his friend.

"Lee?" her voice said.

"Hey, Lacy," he said. "I need a favor."

"Where are you?"

"I'm out of town, and a friend of mine is in trouble, but it's his niece that needs your help."

"What happened?" Lacy asked.

"Her name is Nikita. She's at my friend's place alone right now. I need you to pick her up and get her out of there. We're coming home as fast as we can."

"Is she in danger?" Lacy asked. Lee could hear her moving around and getting ready to go out.

"Is that a yes, you'll help me?"

"Yes, I will help," Lacy confirmed. "Send me the address. Am I going to get ambushed there?"

"No," Lee answered. "They left her behind."

"Okay. I'm on my way."

"Thank you, Lace, for doing this."

"Just because we broke up doesn't mean I won't help you," Lacy said. Lee had no response to this. They were supposed to get married, but Lacy had called it off after realizing she couldn't handle losing Lee to his job. It had been hard and hurtful, but Lee knew it was for the best.

"Same to you," he finally said.

"Be safe."

"I will."

**Toll Road**

They sat him in a chair and strapped him to it. Hector was getting ready to call the burn phone he'd left Nikita.

"You better hope your friends are smart," he told Toll.

Toll knew Barney would have some kind of plan. It was up to Church if it was going to be allowed to happen.

"Hello, little girl," Hector said into the phone. "Did you tell the others my demands? Good girl. What did they say?"

Toll wondered where the team was. It had been a little over an hour since he'd been taken. Were they on their way back already?

"A trade?" Hector said. "Really." He looked at Toll. "And the program?"

They were going to trade Isaiah for him. Toll hoped that would actually work.

"No deal," Hector said, coming closer to Toll and drawing out his gun. Toll braced himself. "Let Isaiah go right now. Bring the program to the location I send you. If you do not follow these orders, the next bullet goes higher." He shot Toll in the leg then, making Toll shout. He worked to control his reaction as he could hear Nikita shrieking his name through the phone.

"Tell them that," Hector finished before hanging up.

**Barney**

"Okay, okay, slow down," Barney said as Nikita relayed everything to him in her panicked voice. "We'll let Isaiah go right now."

"Oh no," Church started, but Barney held up his hand to stop him.

"We'll bring him the program. It's gonna be all right, luv," he said. He hung up and looked at Church. "Let him go."

"No way in hell."

"They shot Toll over us trying to control this. They will kill him."

"Again, one man versus..." Church started, but Lee cut him off.

"Toll is worth a thousand men," he said angrily. "You know that."

"He's our only shot at getting Hector," Barney added. Church mulled this over, knowing Barney was right.

"I don't like this," Church said, pointing his finger at Barney. He turned to face his men. "Let the bastard go."

After a questioning glance, they obeyed. Isaiah stood and rubbed his wrists.

"Your man is as good as dead," he told them.

"So are you," Barney replied. Isaiah laughed as he strolled out of the warehouse.

"He won't get far," Caesar promised.

"Why's that?" Church asked.

"Because I put a bug on him," Caesar answered. "You think I'm that stupid? He won't find it."

"Pull it up on your computer," Barney ordered. "Track him."

"He'll find it and destroy it," Church stated. "That tracker."

"No, he won't," Caesar shook his head. "Because he'd have to cut off his own skin to do that."

"Excuse me?" Barney asked, surprised.

"I got it from a friend," Caesar answered, showing him the spray.

"Geez," Barney whistled. "Where did you spray him?"

"Back of the neck. It was during the water part of our interrogation," Caesar shrugged. "He wouldn't have felt it."

"Good job, Caesar," Barney nodded. "Come on. We gotta get moving if we're gonna save Toll."

**Nikita**

She jumped when someone knocked on the door. She crept to the window, peeking out. A pretty woman was standing there.

"Hello?" the woman called. "Nikita? I'm Lee's friend."

Nikita went to the door praying that this woman wasn't going to hurt her. She'd never trust Lee again if that happened. She pulled it open, and the woman beamed a smile at her.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Lacy. You must be Nikita?"

"Yes."

"Let's get you out of here, huh? You're gonna hang out with me til Lee gets back."

"Okay," Nikita agreed. She went to grab a few things while Lacy came inside and stood by the door, waiting. She returned, and Lacy offered to take the backpack from her, which Nikita allowed.

"Everything's going to be okay," Lacy promised as they got into her car.

Nikita just nodded as Lacy started the car and they drove off.

**Hector **

The girl had explained that Isaiah had been set free. Hector had just spoken with him and knew it was true. He smiled. They must really want their man back to give up Isaiah. The girl had also said they were returning from Germany, that they had to pick up the God's Brain program in America first before dropping it off where he wanted it. If all went well, Hector would be off the grid in a day with a very powerful tool in his hand. This made him smile.


	9. The Storm Before the Calm

**Trigger warning for this chapter.**

* * *

Nikita did not sleep well due to thinking about Toll, her mother, and her father. She had nightmares and kept waking up even when she did manage to fall asleep. When morning came, she was exhausted and still feeling scared. She sat by herself on the couch while Lacy observed her from the kitchen until Lee arrived that afternoon.

"Hey," Lacy said when she saw him. "I'm worried about her."

"Where is she?" Lee asked, coming inside. Nikita was up on her feet instantly and hurrying over to him upon hearing his voice. He held onto her tightly after she hugged him, trying to convey to her everything would be okay.

"Please save him," Nikita begged.

"That's the plan," Lee promised. He released her and bent down to his knee so he was eye level with her. "I need you to be brave and stay with Lacy for a bit longer, okay? We'll come get you when it's over."

"Here's the phone," Nikita said, handing Lee the burn phone Hector had left for her. "Please hurry."

Lee took the phone and gave her one last hug before standing up and heading out. He turned at the door to see Lacy comforting Nikita, who was staring right at him. He gave a nod and stepped out of sight.

**Barney's Hangar**

"Okay," Barney said. "We are to drop off the memory stick at a post office box. We are then to pick up Toll at the location Hector has given. Anyone else see the problem with this?"

"They're gonna kill him anyway," Gunner answered.

"Most likely," Barney agreed. "But we're not gonna let that happen."

"And how are we doing that?" Lee asked. Church wasn't assisting as usual. This greatly annoyed everyone.

"By using what the guy wants," Barney answered, plugging in the program and searching for Hector. "He must think I'm computer illiterate or something cos why the hell wouldn't I use this to find him?"

"Guys," Caesar said, looking up from his laptop. "Isaiah is in New Orleans."

"What?" Barney asked.

"Yea. His tracker says so."

"Great," Gunner said.

"Wait..." Caesar said, frowning.

Barney suddenly picked up his gun, his face growing taut.

"What now?" Lee asked.

"Hector is outside our door," Barney answered. Caesar looked up at them then.

"So is Isaiah."

**Toll Road**

He knew they'd left him for dead. Hector had gone off to find Barney and catch him off guard because he knew Barney would find him first and come after him instead of following the instructions. Toll wished he could warn his friends. Instead, he was sitting there looking at the two henchmen Hector had left to watch him. Their instructions were to kill him once Hector got his program and took care of Barney and his team.

Toll, however, had other plans.

"Oye," he called. "Losers!"

"Who are you calling a loser?" one snarled, coming over to him. On cue, he punched Toll and knocked him over. Toll groaned in pain from landing on the broken glass that was lying there, but he quickly picked up a piece in his hand while no one was looking. They were busy kicking him. Then he was put upright again and punched one more time across the face. Toll had taken beatings before, and these guys were amateurs. He spat out the blood and grinned at them.

"Stop," the one said to the other, who was about to backhand Toll again. "Not yet."

"It won't be soon enough," that man glared. Toll kept on grinning as they went over to their posts again. Then he started cutting away at his bonds awkwardly.

**Nikita**

Not long after Lee left, she saw the men watching from across the street. She knew they were there for her.

"We have to go," she said to Lacy.

"Why?" Lacy asked.

"Those men are watching us. They've come for me," Nikita insisted.

"Okay," Lacy said, trying not to show she was afraid. She went into her room and came back with the gun Lee had given her when they were together. He'd told her to keep it when they broke up. She took Nikita's hand, and they went out the back door.

"Hello," a man said, standing there and waiting for them. Lacy reached for her gun, but she was knocked out from behind by another man. Nikita shrieked when they grabbed her. All she could think about was what they had in store for her.

**Barney's Hangar**

Hector was met by four men pointing guns at him. He smiled.

"You're going to want to put those away," he insisted, holding up his phone. "One call from me, and your man is dead."

"I need proof of life first," Barney ordered. Hector laughed.

"In due time. First, the program, please."

"Like hell," Caesar growled.

"Perhaps this will make you cooperate," Hector said, gesturing. Barney groaned inwardly as Nikita was brought forth by two of Hector's men and Isaiah. Eight more men were outside according to Barney's surveillance camera. This was all too familiar.

"What is your obsession with this girl?" he asked. "What did she ever do to you?"

"She's good leverage for starters. And I knew her father, and he let me down. I'm just returning the favor to him posthumously."

"Caesar, hand it over," Barney instructed.

Caesar reluctantly unplugged the memory stick from the computer and slowly got up. He was stalling, but he honestly didn't know what he was stalling for.

**Toll Road**

He managed to get free of the chair without the two guards noticing. He called them over again, and when they did, he attacked them. He stabbed the one with his piece of glass before taking that man's gun and shooting him with it. He shot the other man right before he could get shot again himself. He was breathing heavily as he exited the building. He had taken keys from one guard's pocket and found the car in the parking lot. His leg was killing him from getting shot the day before, but at least they had put some kind of tourniquet on it to stop the bleeding. He go into the car and sped off to Barney's hangar. He knew they were going there because Hector had been arrogant enough to tell him so.

This was going to end now.

**Nikita  
**

She watched Caesar walk slowly to Hector, stopping a foot in front of him and extending his hand with the memory stick in it. Hector stepped forward to take it, and he was still smiling.

"Follow us, and she dies," he told them all. Isaiah propelled Nikita back towards the exit, and they all started walking. They made it outside to find Toll standing there with Church beside him. Hector's men were all dead on the ground, taken out by silenced guns. It turned out Church had decided to participate after all.

"It's over, Hector," Toll called, his gun aimed at Hector.

"It's over when I say it's over," Hector argued. He gestured to Isaiah, who put his gun to Nikita's head. This time, however, Nikita was too fast for him. She ducked and turned to punch him in the privates. Isaiah shouted and keeled over in pain. Hector ran for it while Church's men took out the last two of Hector's men. Church went over to Isaiah and cuffed him.

"You're not dead, but you'll be wishing you were after I'm done with you," Church explained, hauling him away. Toll was chasing after Hector. Barney, Gunner, Caesar, and Lee were all outside now, and Nikita took off after Toll once they arrived.

"Nikita!" Lee shouted.

The gun was heavy in her hand. She'd taken it from Isaiah's holster after she punched him. He shouldn't have left his second gun within reach.

"Nikita!" the others were shouting now. She was fast, though. She had to make sure Toll wouldn't be killed. She was so scared of being alone. She needed him.

**Toll Road**

He launched himself onto Hector once he got within reach. They both went down, and the fist fight began. Toll noticed that Hector fought dirty, so he did his best to avoid the blows he anticipated coming. It didn't help that he has a bum leg, though, from the gunshot Hector had given him the day before.

Hector threw him down, and he was panting and growling.

"She was scum," he said, referring to Lori. "She deserved to die!"

Toll kicked out and caught Hector's leg, making him stumble. It was enough time for Toll to get back to his feet. They went at each other again, but again Hector threw Toll down. Toll was tired and in pain. He wanted this to be over.

"Say hi to her for me," Hector said, pulling out a hidden gun. Toll had no time to retrieve his. He braced himself when three gunshots went off, and Hector gasped from impact as he sunk to the ground. He was dead in seconds. Toll saw Nikita holding a gun in her hand. She had come up behind Hector and shot him. Lee was there in seconds, and he stared at the scene before him.

"Are you okay?" Nikita asked Toll.

"Yea," he answered. "I'm okay."

Lee took the gun from Nikita, still staring. She was not fazed by any of it. She went over to Toll and dropped down to hug him as Toll struggled to sit up. He held her tightly, trying not to feel as emotional as he was.

"What happened?" Barney asked, appearing out of breath. He had chased after Lee, leaving Gunner and Caesar with Church and Isaiah.

"She shot him," Lee answered, gesturing.

"I told you I could shoot a gun," Nikita said, looking at them then. "He was going to kill Toll. I stopped him."

"You get the other guy?" Toll asked.

"Yea. Church has him."

"Then it's over?"

"It's over," Barney nodded as Lee dug into Hector's pocket and pulled out the memory stick. Barney helped Toll to his feet, and he limped along beside Barney as they walked back to Church.

"You should get that leg looked at," Church commented when he saw them.

"I will," Toll agreed. Barney went to go get his truck then.

"Here," Lee said, handing over the memory stick. "Next time, do your own dirty work."

Church took it from him with a smirk. He turned to leave with his men and Isaiah. Lee's phone rang, and he answered it.

"Yea, she's here. We got her," Lee said to Lacy, who was freaking out. "Are you okay?"

He walked off to continue the conversation in private.

"She got hit hard," Nikita told Toll. "When they grabbed me, they knocked her out."

"Ouch," Toll winced.

"Okay big guy," Barney said, pulling up in his truck. "Get in. We're going to the hospital."

Toll opened the door and climbed in. Nikita got in the back. She wasn't letting him out of her sight. Barney didn't talk as they drove. Toll wanted to tell him about Lori suddenly. He felt his friend deserved to know half of what had gone on in the past while.

"Hector killed my wife ten years ago," Toll said, making Barney look at him. There was no surprise there, though.

"I knew you had something personal going on," he replied. "I assumed. That and I saw the photo of her in your living room the last time I was there."

"Right," Toll sighed. That's how he'd known. That was why he had brought it up in the truck that day at the school.

"Better late than never," Barney commented. "He can't hurt anyone else now."

"Yea," Toll agreed. He kept the rest of Lori's story to himself. One day he'd share it, but not now. Nikita reached for his hand, and he squeezed it in return. He had this girl to look after now. The past was behind him, and now that he understood it better, he could move forward a little easier. He'd do it for Lori and for Nikita. He'd do it for himself.

"Almost there, buddy," Barney said as they pulled up to the hospital entrance. The rest was a blur.


	10. Life is Good

**Nine Months Later**

"Oh!" Caesar shouted, clapping his hands.

"Get 'im! Get 'im!" Gunner called through cupped hands as he hooted and hollered.

"Atta girl!" Barney was yelling. Tool and Lee were shouting encouragements as well. Toll was running alongside the field.

"Go, Nikita!" he was shouting. "Go, go, go!"

Nikita had the soccer ball and was bee lining straight for the net. She'd taken out a player who had charged her, which was why Caesar and Gunner were egging her on.

"YEA!" all six men bellowed when Nikita scored. She jumped up and down excitedly, waving at her family on the sidelines.

"Damn, she's fast," Tool said after, laughing. Gunner and Caesar high fived each other. Toll was talking to the other teammates as Barney and Lee bumped fists and grinned at each other.

It was nine months after Hector. It was June, and Nikita was doing well in school and had joined the soccer team. Toll was the coach, which Barney had encouraged him to do. Toll didn't go on missions anymore, not with Nikita in his care. The team had understood that. Nikita had settled into routine with Toll quite easily. Barney had Tool sketch her memory of her parents, so she had a drawn photo of them in a frame added to the shelf beside Toll and Lori's wedding photo. Lee had stitched up her teddy bear as promised, and she started leaving it at home more and more as she felt safer. She had agreed to meet with Toll's therapist, and she was working through her past trauma and working towards healing from it.

"What did I miss?" Emma asked, arriving then.

"Ah, the librarian," Barney noted, smiling. "How's it going?"

"Good. Sorry I'm late. There was a book crisis," she replied, covering her eyes with her hand to find Toll.

"There's such a thing as a book crisis?" Lee asked, surprised.

"Oh yes. If you don't have what the people want, it can get ugly," she smiled. Lee wasn't sure if she was teasing him or not, but he let it go.

"Hey," Toll said, approaching her. "You made it."

"I did. What did I miss?"

"Nikita kicking ass," Toll answered, laughing. He watched Nikita chatting with her team and smiling. He was glad she was finally making some friends. The slumber parties took a lot out of him, though. Thankfully Emma helped out a lot.

"That's my girl," Emma grinned. She looked at Barney and the others before looking back at Toll meaningfully.

"We know you two are doing it," Barney commented. "It's no big secret." Emma's face went scarlet, as did Toll's. They turned to face the other way to avoid the smirks from the guys.

"Sorry for him," Toll said.

"It's okay. He's just jealous," Emma winked. Toll kissed the side of her head then. He had been brave enough to ask her out four months ago thanks to Nikita's continued prompting and urging him to try dating again. He did like Emma, and it had been a long time since Lori had died. His therapist even agreed that trying to date meant he was healing. Toll did not hide anything from Emma, though, and he was surprised when she revealed her father had been a mercenary and knew all about that kind of life. She knew Toll had retired, though, but she enjoyed spending time with Barney and the gang when they were around. Emma even knew the truth about Nikita, and she had commended Toll on taking her in.

"Emma!" Nikita called, jogging over to them. She was almost nine. Her birthday was in a few days. She had told Toll at Christmas when he'd asked what day it was. The guys had done their best to make it a good Christmas for her, and she had been blown away by their efforts. Tool's drawing of her parents being one of the gifts she had received. Barney had told her it was for something else when he had her describe her parents to Tool, so she had been very blown away when she saw the drawing. Toll looked at it every day, and it gave him an idea. He was saving the surprise for her birthday.

"Hey! Great job today," Emma said, hugging Nikita. "You're gonna go pro I think."

"You think so?" Nikita asked hopefully.

"Oh yes," Emma nodded. The whistle blew, and it was time for the game to continue.

"Go get 'em," Toll said to her, ruffling her hair before she took off. He smiled to himself as he watched her get right back into the game. Things were finally good, and he hoped they would remain that way for a long time.

**Days Later**

"You really should consider a different career," Tool commented as he appraised Caesar's cake he was working on for Nikita's birthday.

"I just enjoy the process," Caesar replied. "It's relaxing."

Tool nodded and turned to look at Gunner and Lee, who were putting up the streamers and balloons. Gunner was getting more tangled up in the streamers than anything, so Lee was constantly untangling him from them. The occasional bang of a balloon popping echoed in the room as Gunner accidentally stepped on one every so often.

"How?" Lee asked after the fourth time. "How are you not seeing them there?"

"I dunno," Gunner answered.

"You guys are terrible at this," Barney said, going to the rescue. He swiftly and efficiently tacked up the decorations with no issues at all.

"They're gonna be here soon," Tool said. "We got everything?"

"Barbecue is up and running. Lots of burgers and sausages. Cake. Drinks. I think we got it all," Caesar said, ticking his fingers as he went over the list.

"Gifts?" Tool asked.

"That table over there," Caesar pointed.

"Okay," Tool nodded, heading over there to place his gift. He'd done another drawing of Nikita's parents based from the first one he'd done. She always talked about them dancing, so he drew that scene for her. When she was old enough, he promised to do a tattoo for her.

"How are we doing?" Toll asked, entering then. Emma was bringing Nikita from school.

"Good. I think," Barney answered. He tilted his head as he surveyed his last tape job of balloons.

BANG!

"Sorry," Gunner said. Another balloon had met its untimely death.

"Do you just not watch where your feet go?" Lee asked, incredulous. Barney snickered.

"Nice party," Church's voice said as he entered. "Who's getting older?"

"Nikita," Toll answered, going over to him. "You bring it?"

"No, I just came to hang out," Church answered sarcastically. "Of course I brought it." He handed Toll the package, and Toll peeked inside at the contents.

"Awesome. Thanks so much," Toll said.

"No problem. It would have just gotten tossed anyway," Church replied.

"You wanna stick around?" Toll asked.

"Nah. I don't do parties or happiness," Church said, making a face. "But thanks."

"See ya later, Church," Barney called. Church gave a nod of his head before exiting. Barney hoped they wouldn't be hearing from him any time soon.

"Who took my ninth candle?" Caesar called. "Huh? Who?!"

"I didn't touch your damn candles," Lee said.

"Innocent," Tool said, holding up his hands.

Gunner was smirking, which gave him away.

"Come on, man," Caesar said. "Why?"

"Cos it got you in a dither," Gunner answered. "Which is always fun to watch."

"Give it. Now," Caesar ordered. "Don't make me unleash Sister on you." His fingers dangled near where the knife was holstered.

"All right, all right," Gunner said, pulling the candle out from his shirt pocket. Caesar snatched it and glared at him before going to put it with the rest on the cake.

"I wonder how his wife feels about him being the woman of the house?" Lee asked.

"I heard that!" Caesar called. "And I'll have you know that she appreciates my cooking way better than you assholes do."

"I was referring to your fits," Lee corrected.

"I do not have fits..." Caesar started.

"Oh, please," Barney cut in. "You have fits, man."

"He even stamps his foot," Gunner snorted in laughter over him.

"I do not!" Caesar exclaimed, stamping his foot on cue before catching himself and cursing. Barney, Lee, and Gunner started to howl in laughter now. Tool watched, amused.

"Shut up, shut up, she's here," Toll interrupted as a car approached.

"More fool you," Caesar said, getting the last word in. "There is nothing wrong with being compared to a woman. I'm taking it as a compliment."

"Okay, Marie," Gunner smirked. Caesar jabbed him in response. Lee stepped in before it got out of control. Toll went to the door and gave everyone a warning glance to stop them goofing around. They cleared their throats and stood to attention.

"Hey," Toll said, opening the door to Emma and Nikita. "Good day?"

"They had cupcakes for me at school," Nikita answered, smiling. "And I got a card with a gift card in it."

"Awesome," Toll smiled. "Come on in." He moved aside for her to come in.

"Surprise!" Caesar shouted. A chorus of "Happy Birthdays" followed from the others. Nikita was blushing a little at the surprise as she went to hug them all.

"Did you get it?" Emma asked after giving Toll a kiss.

"Yea," he answered.

"She's gonna be so thrilled."

"I know. I can't wait," Toll smiled. Caesar put the birthday hat on Nikita and took dinner requests as Lee went to the barbecue out back. Barney went out to join him.

"Makes you think, huh?" he commented. Lee looked at him.

"About what?"

"Settling down. Having kids."

"That didn't work out for me, remember?" Lee pointed out. He and Lacy were still in touch but just as friends. He hadn't met anyone else yet, nor was he looking.

"Well, it's never too late," Barney said.

"You gonna become the family man, are you?" Lee asked. "At this age?"

"I might," Barney answered, sticking his cigar into his mouth and grinning before going for a small stroll while he smoked.

"Okay," Caesar said, coming out with the meat. "You got this, right?"

"I know how to cook, Caesar," Lee said, annoyed.

"Yes because that roast you did last week was so well done," Caesar said sarcastically.

"I did not know that the slow cooker had blown the breaker and turned off," Lee insisted.

"Amateur," Caesar sniffed.

"Say that again when I'm not trapped by a barbecue," Lee threatened. Caesar disappeared inside before finding out if Lee was willing to sacrifice dinner to slap him around with the pair of tongs in his hand. Barney came back and supervised until it was all ready. Everyone clamored around getting their food and condiments. Nikita giggled at their antics. She loved her new family. She still missed her parents like crazy, but she could cope better with it when she had the guys and Emma there to help.

When it was time for gifts, Gunner had his out first. Nikita almost dropped it when he handed it to her.

"What did you give her? Lead?" Barney asked.

"A box of bullets?" Caesar joked.

"Better not be a grenade set," Toll warned.

"Oh my," Emma chuckled nervously. She didn't really know what to think of these guys sometimes, but she loved them.

"Wow," Nikita said, opening it to find a wooden plaque with her name and designs carved into it.

Barney whistled.

"I'm impressed," Lee said, leaning in to look at it better over Nikita's shoulder.

"I thought you just whittled because you were bored not because you actually made stuff," Caesar said.

"I started that soon after you joined our family," Gunner said to Nikita, ignoring the others. "I just finished two days ago."

"I love it. Thank you," Nikita said, going to hug him and kiss his cheek. Gunner felt very warm inside at the affection. Having her around reminded him of the girl he hadn't been able to save, yes, but he made it his mission to never let anything happen to Nikita. They all had really.

"Me next," Caesar said. He handed his package to her.

"I thought Toll would be the one to give her a book," Tool commented. "He's always got his nose buried in one."

"My girls love this," Caesar said over Tool.

"Cool!" Nikita crowed. It was a book on different styles of braids for her hair. Caesar earned himself a hug and a kiss too.

Tool went next. Nikita's eyes were wet at the sight of her parents in a drawing dancing. Tool got an extra long hug for that. Barney's gift was smaller. She gasped at the sight of the silver chain with the letter "N" at the end. The "N" had a vine of roses around it, and the roses were colored red.

"Very beautiful," Emma said. Toll wondered if Barney had put a tracking device in it in case something happened in the future. The wink he got from Barney over Nikita's shoulder as she hugged him confirmed his theory.

"Okay," Lee said, handing her his gift. "Now, you can't use it til you're older..."

"Oh no, you didn't," Toll started as Nikita opened it.

"My very own knife? For me?" she asked, astonished. Her name was engraved on the handle.

"I think everyone should have their own blade," Lee shrugged when Toll gave him a look. "Keep it safe until you're old enough to use it."

"I love it," she said, beaming. Lee laughed when she hugged him hard.

"Best for last," Toll said. Emma had given Nikita her gift in the car on the way over. It was a charm bracelet. She couldn't wait to give it to her, which Toll found very cute.

"Another book?" Nikita asked, teasing as she took the package from him.

"You'll see," Toll said. Emma squeezed his hand then.

"Oh...oh wow," Nikita said, putting a hand over her mouth when she pulled the frame out of the package. She started to cry as she pulled out two smaller frames and a letter.

"Holy shit, Toll," Caesar said, seeing what it was. Gunner nudged him.

"Language," he scolded.

"How did you get this?" Nikita asked Toll.

"Church. He called in a favor, and they sent it to him."

"I thought I'd never see a picture of them again," Nikita said, looking down at her lap. The first photo was of her father and mother on their wedding day. The second was of her mother holding Nikita as a baby. The third was the last photo they had taken together a couple of months before her father died.

"They from his desk at work?" Barney asked Toll, who nodded.

Nikita picked up the letter then, knowing it was from her father. She recognized his handwriting.

"Why don't you read that when you're alone," Toll suggested. "I think it's meant for your eyes only."

"Okay," she nodded, sliding it back into the package with the pictures. "Thank you. All of you. I love you."

"We love you too, darlin'," Barney answered for all of them.

It was a pretty good birthday indeed.

**Later-Nikita **

She was alone in her bedroom after the party. She was tired, but she wanted to know what was in that letter. She could hear Toll and Emma talking in the other room. Emma was on the verge of moving in, Nikita knew. She was glad that Toll had risked for love again.

Her heart was beating fast as she pulled out the letter. She could almost smell him on the pages, and her eyes teared up. She blinked so she could see the paper.

_My Darling, Nikita,_

_I write this letter because I never know what is going to happen to me on the job. I think of you and your mother often, and I know I can't keep this way of life much longer. I don't want to miss out on every milestone you're going to approach. As I write this, you have just turned seven. You're so bright for your age, and your laugh always makes my day. When I was a young man, I had no idea I'd get so lucky as to have someone like your mother in my life let alone an amazing daughter like you. I hope you never read this letter, but if you are, then it means I'm no longer there. I wish for that to never happen, but like I said, this job is unpredictable. Be good for your mother, and be good for me. You're strong and brave, and I know that wherever you are, you'll be doing just fine and moving forward because you have both your mother and I flowing in your veins. I love you, Nikita. Wherever I am, I will always love you. Remember that._

_Your Daddy_

She found another small note tucked in the envelope, and she smiled as she read her mother's words to her father, telling him to have a good day and that she loved him forever.

"Hey," Toll said, opening her bedroom door just as she finished reading. She was openly crying now. "You read it."

"Uh huh."

"Was it sad?"

"No. It was really nice. He wrote it in case he died," Nikita answered. She didn't tell him about the one her mother had written. It was her secret.

"I kind of thought that," Toll sighed, sitting down beside her on the bed. "You okay?"

"Yea."

"The ones we love and lost are never gone, you know that right? They're always with us," Toll said after a moment.

"I know."

"I know I'll never be your Dad, but I'll be the best uncle I can be," Toll promised.

"You're already doing a good job," Nikita smiled, wiping at her tears.

"Good. I'm glad."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They hugged, and then Nikita tucked her letter away before getting underneath the covers. Toll shut her lamp off and stopped at her door before leaving, looking at her. His life was forever changed, and he knew then that if he had to do it over, he wouldn't change a damn thing.

He closed the door softly and went back to Emma. They were moving forward, and he was happy. He'd survived.

Come what may. He'd be ready.

He'd survive again.

**The End**


End file.
